Glen Nelson Center Announces Winners of Fifth Annual Next Challenge for Media & Journalism
National awards celebration held at Media Impact Forum at KQED in San Francisco honored five winners across six award categories with a total of $200,000 in grants.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2026 — Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group last week unveiled the winners of the fifth annual Next Challenge for Media and Journalism National Awards Celebration at the Media Impact Forum at KQED in San Francisco. The ceremony brought together journalists, funders, technologists, and founders to recognize the most innovative startups reinventing local news across the United States.
Almost 400 media startups began the application process for the 2026 Next Challenge, from which 16 finalists were selected, and five winning companies received cash awards totaling $200,000.
David Brancaccio, Marketplace’s “future effects” senior correspondent and former host of Marketplace Morning Report, served as emcee for the awards celebration.
"As we enter the fifth year of the Next Challenge, the urgency of this work has never been more apparent,” said Jeff Freeland Nelson, executive director of Glen Nelson Center. “The founders we recognized are not waiting for someone else to solve the local news crisis. They are building the solutions themselves. This competition exists to find them, support them, and put them in front of the people who can help them grow.”
2026 Next Challenge Award Winners
Pioneer Award for Local Creator Journalism, $50,000 — Democrasexy
The Pioneer Award for Local Creator Journalism is presented to an independent journalist using emerging digital platforms to strengthen civil discourse in their local community. Democrasexy makes civic engagement irresistible through engaging digital explainers, uplifting in-person events, and authentic community-building.
Catalyst Award for Local News Innovation, $50,000— Cicero Independiente
The Catalyst Award for Local News Innovation recognizes a groundbreaking news organization that represents a new way forward for local journalism in the United States. Cicero Independiente is a news organization serving Cicero and Berwyn with inclusive and bilingual news and storytelling opportunities.
Cornerstone Award for Local News Infrastructure, $50,000— Civilio AI
The Cornerstone Award for Local News Infrastructure honors a technology startup building digital tools to address the critical needs of journalists and local news organizations . Civilio AI supports journalists with in-depth, verified, and actionable civic intelligence of government decision-making.
Trust Award, $10,000 — The E’ville Good
The Trust Award honors a finalist that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to earning and maintaining the trust of the communities they serve. The E’ville Good produces simultaneous bilingual journalism bridging language divides in rural Iowa and Minnesota communities.
Vision Award, $10,000 — The Florida Trib
The Vision Award goes to an innovative finalist with a bold vision to reinvent media and journalism. The Florida Trib is an award-winning nonprofit newsroom scaling free investigative journalism statewide across Florida, America’s worst news desert.
Grand Prize, $25,000 — Democrasexy
The $25,000 Grand Prize was awarded to one division winner selected by the judges as meeting this moment with the most meaningful and innovative impact on local journalism.
“It’s so energizing to know how many people share our urgency in addressing the needs of the state with the fewest local news outlets per capita in the United States. The support that comes with this award will help us address huge information gaps during a critical election year in Florida.” — The Florida Trib, Vision Award
“I have been wondering what kind of impact I could have with Texas women and queer folks if I could devote myself to them full time. This award will help me quit my 4 part time jobs and find out! Thank you for helping me believe in myself so I can help Texans believe in themselves.” — Democrasexy, Pioneer Award & Grand Prize
The 2026 Next Challenge is supported by Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Press Forward, Carlson Family Foundation, and Whaley Family Foundation, in partnership with Media Impact Funders, which hosted the awards celebration at its annual Media Impact Forum.
Applications for the 2027 Next Challenge will open later this year. Media startups and their supporters can learn more at thenextchallenge.com.
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About the Glen Nelson Center
Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group (APMG) identifies promising media innovation that drives strategic learning, business development, and accretive investments that accelerate delivery of APMG's mission to create the future of public media.Glen Nelson Center programs include the Horizon Fund, which invests in early-stage ventures with the potential to sustain and grow media and journalism over the coming decade, the Next Challenge for Media & Journalism, an annual competition that awards grants to innovative for-profit and nonprofit startups and College Emerging Voices, a Minnesota-based competition providing students the opportunity to design strategies for the next era of public media In 2023, Glen Nelson Center joined a coalition of 22 funders across the United States to help launch Press Forward, a groundbreaking national initiative aimed at revitalizing and empowering local journalism. For more information visit GlenNelson.org.
About American Public Media Group
American Public Media Group (APMG) is the largest station-based public radio organization in the U.S., combining multi-regional station operations, national programming creation and distribution and innovative digital, social and mobile services in one organization. APMG’s operations include Minnesota Public Radio® (MPR®), a 45-station network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states. MPR and its three regional services –MPR News, YourClassical MPR and The Current –produce programming for radio, digital and live audiences. APMG is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world and reaches over 15 million listeners across 1,000 public radio stations nationwide each week. APMG’s national portfolio includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, APM Studios, and the leading classical music programming in the nation, YourClassical. APMG also includes LAist, a four-station network serving Los Angeles, Orange County, Coachella Valley, and the Inland Empire. For more information – or to become a member and support APMG efforts to reimagine the future of public radio, visit americanpublicmediagroup.org.