Innovation Ecosystem
A day at the media races
Amidst genocidal threats by a mentally unwell President, promising to wipe out an entire civilization, do you believe that there can be a rebirth of wonder and accuracy in local news?
Photo by Jocelyn Anderson Photography, from her Twitter feed. (File photo.)
A one-day-old Sandhill Crane peaks out from under Mom's wing while a three-day-old colt ventures about the next.
By Richard Asinof
Posted 4/13/26
The effort by private philanthropy to recapture the narrative of American democracy by investing in local journalism shows how far the corporate pendulum of misinformation and disruption has swung. The new Press Forward initiative will face some stiff headwinds from the Trumpian forces.
When will Congress act to invoke the 25th Amendment and seek to remove a very ill President Trump from office? What is the most important narrative to be told about Rhode Island’s history? What ways can the Rhode Island Foundation and the RI Attorney General’s office create a new source of income to fund health care in the state? Can local health care delivery centers create communities that bring together caregivers, patients, and elderly residences as a sanctuary for safer, healthier living? Can the state hire Rebecca Altman as a scientist in residence to create an action plan to respond to the threats of plastic pollution?
What will it take to remove President Donald Trump from office, given his severe decline in mental health? His continued presence in his position as President puts the United States at great risk of catastrophe. The failure of Republicans to act for the good of the nation, putting personal gain ahead of political he country’s welfare, is astonishing.
PART One
PROVIDENCE — Did you miss the inaugural celebration of “Local News Day,” held on Thursday, April 9? If you did, no worries: the news cycle promises to remake itself anew every day.
The new national "news holiday” was invented to honor a philanthropy-led initiative that seeks to invest in local news gathering operations across the U.S.
The national effort, known as Press Forward, seeks to pump up the volume at local non-profit news operations across the country, offering a fact-based counterpoint to corporate misinformation and distortion.
Here in Rhode Island, the Press Forward efforts are being directed under the leadership from the Rhode Island Foundation and the van Beuren Charitable Trust.
"Access to trustworthy, reliable local news is fundamental to civic health. It’s how communities stay informed, hold institutions accountable, and make decisions together,” said David N. Cicilline, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, in a recent news release. “Press Forward Rhode Island is our commitment to ensuring that every Rhode Islander, in every corner of our state, has access to the information they need to fully participate in civic life."
Towards that end, investments of some $500,000 will be made by the end of this year, according to sources.
A small group of news outlets has been meeting regularly to suss out the details of Press Forward initiative — including East Greenwich News, ecoRI News, Rhode Island Current, RINewsToday, the Hummel Report , The Providence Eye, the Valley Breeze and What’s Up Newport.
The goals include:
- Improving access to news and information: strengthening trusted information networks and addressing misinformation and disinformation.
- Addressing significant information gaps identified by research and engagement: expanding news and information in and with communities that are primarily rural, multilingual or historically disenfranchised.
- Increasing sustainability of news networks through innovation and collaboration.
But, given the apocalyptic threats issued by President Trump to wipe out the entire Persian civilization, and First Lady Melanie Trump’s six-minute non-denial denial news briefing, reading a statement to deny she was friends with convicted sex child abuser Jeffrey Epstein, the narrative seems to have broken out of control.
Re-imagining local news, reinventing the narrative of our lives
As ConvergenceRI has published many times, talking about its underlying precept, our personal stories are our most valuable possessions; sharing them with others makes us more human, creating a sense of connectiveness and neighborhood, a place where we can all feel safe and secure.
