We have officially launched Newsroom Collective, a community of local newsrooms across the U.S. using video to enhance journalistic impact, expand audiences, and increase revenue. We’re also hosting an in-person celebration of the launch during the Future of Nonfiction Video 2025 on February 7-8 in New York City — a collaborative discussion about what is (and isn’t) working in nonfiction video.

As traditional journalism models falter and new ways of reaching the public emerge, video is dominating the conversation. It’s the most powerful tool we have to engage and inform; it delivers intimate and emotionally captivating stories that go beyond images and words. Local newsrooms are working hard to evolve and reach their communities, who are increasingly getting their information from YouTube and social feeds. The Newsroom Collective, powered by Knight Foundation and in alignment with Press Forward, is stepping in to offer guidance and expertise — as well as connections to its talent pool of almost six thousand nonfiction video creators.

This month, Video Consortium opened its membership to newsrooms in preparation for Newsroom Collective, which launches January 16 via a monthly series of virtual workshops, happening on the third Thursday of each month. Soon, mentorship for newsrooms, a monthly newsletter, and in-person workshops via VC’s dozens of local community hubs will support these sessions. The program’s partners are News Revenue Hub, a nonprofit that helps news organizations build financial sustainability, and the California Local News Fellowship, a multi-year state-funded initiative to strengthen local journalism across the state.

Newsroom Collective’s inaugural session — Simplified Video Workflows for Newsrooms — features Oriel Danielson, Video Editor for Linkedin News and an award-winning filmmaker who will offer insight on what makes vertical videos get traction. Upcoming session facilitators and Video Consortium members also include Erin McGoff, an accomplished journalist and creator with millions of followers; Jonah Kessel, Deputy Director of Opinion Video at the New York Times; Sarah Bishop-Woods, News Revenue Hub’s Chief of Staff; Andrés Cediel, University of California, Berkeley faculty; Adriana Lacy, journalism audience consultant; Jake Nicol, Lecturer at UC Berkeley and Stanford; and Krishna Sharma, the Baltimore Banner’s Audience Engagement Editor. A pre-launch session in late 2024 brought together over 30 local newsrooms across the country, who tuned in to garner video expertise together.

Newsroom Collective’s launch will be officially inaugurated at Future of Nonfiction Video 2025, an “unconference” in New York, hosted in partnership with Columbia Journalism School and supported by Knight Foundation. Convening 150 industry professionals for a screening and discussion on Friday, February 7, 2025, and an all-day summit on Saturday, February 8, 2025, the event will bring together the brightest minds to collectively question what is and isn’t working in nonfiction video: media students, emerging and established creators, newsroom leads, and industry professionals are convening for a solutions-focused approach to how we can use video for a more impactful journalism future. Media professionals can register at nonfictionvideo.org.

Read the full press release here.