Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group announces winners of the 2025 Next Challenge for Media & Journalism
ST. PAUL, Minn., June 11, 2025 – Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group has awarded $200,000 in grants to five early-stage media startups in the 2025 Next Challenge for Media and Journalism. This was the fourth year of the national competition promoting powerful and innovative startups reinventing media & journalism. The Next Challenge is the largest startup competition open to nonprofit and for-profit media companies in the U.S.
The 2025 Next Challenge was in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Press Forward, Carlson Family Foundation, Whaley Family Foundation and Media Impact Funders. The award ceremony took place on June 10 at the F.M. Kirby Auditorium at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia as part of the Media Impact Forum, a national gathering of funders with a shared vision of a world in which compelling media serves the public interest.
Over 300 media startups from across 45 U.S. states and territories began the 2025 Next Challenge application process. Thirty-eight percent of this year’s applications were from non-profit organizations, and 35 percent had BIPOC founders. 60 volunteer judges experienced in media, journalism, entrepreneurship, and investing helped determine the winners. 27 division finalists received free training and were paired with industry mentors to hone their business plans and prepare for the final judging round.
The winning startups are:
Future of Local Journalism Award: A $50,000 award was given to Community News Lab, a non-profit with a mission to bring community information, belonging, and joy to San Francisco neighborhoods via digital news kiosks on public sidewalks. This award, supported by MacArthur Foundation, recognizes an innovative startup serving a specific local or regional geography, filling a gap in existing local news services.
NewsTech Award: A $50,000 award was given to Plucky Works, an editorial software with a goal to help under-resourced and small newsrooms get access to the tools they need. This award, supported by the Knight Foundation, recognizes a startup building digital tools to address the critical tech needs of journalists and local news organizations.
Open-Source Intelligence Award: A $50,000 award was given to The Current GA, an inclusive non-profit, independent news organization which provides in-depth watchdog journalism for Savannah and Coastal Georgia’s communities. This award, supported by McKnight Foundation, recognizes a startup leveraging publicly available data in support of local journalism.
From among these three division winners, the judges also awarded an additional $25,000 Grand Prize to Community News Lab.
“It’s truly an honor to win the Future of Local Journalism Award and the Next Challenge Grand Prize. I take this recognition as a symbol of support for Community News Lab’s bold vision to put local news in public spaces, said Julia Gitis, founder of Community News Lab. “Our prototype sparks imagination for how residents in San Francisco and around the world view their public sidewalks. This prize is a significant milestone on our path to city approval in San Francisco.”
Two additional awards were announced at the celebration:
Factchequeado empowers Latinos, media and community organizations that serve them through collaboration and AI tools. They won the $12,500 Trust Award recognizing a finalist investing in transparency and engagement efforts to strengthen trust with audiences.
Investigative Project on Race and Equity trains journalists in data-driven reporting and collaborate with news organizations to uncover systemic racism. They won the $12,500 Vision Award recognizing an innovative finalist with a bold vision to reinvent media and journalism.
“There are enormous challenges confronting media and journalism worldwide,” said Jeff Freeland Nelson, executive director of Glen Nelson Center. “The groundbreaking finalists and winners of the Next Challenge show us what is possible when startups embrace new business models, invest in emerging technologies, and deeply engage with the communities they serve. They give us a vision of what can make media successful in the future.”
For more information and to watch the awards celebration, visit thenextchallenge.com.
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About Glen Nelson Center
Launched in 2018, Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group identifies, elevates, and invests in groundbreaking media ventures led by a diverse group of visionary founders. Connecting startup founders and teams with APMG staff, advisors, and board members informs strategic planning, supports long-term revenue and audience goals and strengthens the APMG innovation culture. Glen Nelson Center programs include The Horizon Fund, which invests in early-stage ventures that have the potential to sustain and grow media and journalism in the coming decade, and The Next Challenge, an annual competition that awards grants to innovative startups reinventing media & journalism. In 2023, Glen Nelson Center joined a coalition of 22 funders across the United States to launch Press Forward, a groundbreaking national initiative aimed at revitalizing and empowering local journalism. For more information on Glen Nelson Center, 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 nearly 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 Southern California Public Radio, 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.