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Michigan Shows the Gap Between Community Trust and Sustainable Funding

By Haeven Gibbons

April 1, 2026

People record a conversation in a recording studio
Community media grows by listening to the community. Public Media Network in Kalamazoo, Michigan is proof of that. Photo by Public Media Network

More than a decade ago, veteran journalist and educator Joe Grimm, who spent 25 years at the Detroit Free Press, studied Michigan’s local news landscape. When he revisited it through The Pivot Fund’s latest analysis, his conclusion was stark: the same problems remain.

“The same problems we had 10 years ago are the problems we have now,” he said. “We are sliding down a slope.”

For funders, this is the central tension: trusted community journalism exists—but it is not sustainably funded.

Across Michigan, audiences rely on local outlets that reflect their lives and meet their information needs. But many of those same outlets operate without long-term business models, succession plans or sufficient resources to endure.

Kevin Miller, a 46-year-old self-described “news junkie” from western Michigan, has watched his favorite newspapers shrink in size and scope over the years. Frustrated with the lack of in-depth local coverage, Miller turned to NowKalamazoo, an independent news outlet, which he says “fills the gap and then some.” Its coverage of issues like road construction and park upgrades might not grab national headlines, but to Kevin, they are the lifeblood of his community. 

Trust is not the problem—investment is

The report makes clear that community trust has already been earned.

What’s missing is sustained investment.

Sierra Clark Interviewing Indigenous International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Elizabeth Montez Giras.
Sierra Clark Interviewing Indigenous International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Elizabeth Montez Giras for
a story for New York and Michigan Solutions “Indigenous Communities Revive Cultural Practices to Save Mothers’
Lives.” Photo by Philip Hutchinson, Northern Territory Imaging and Design.

Community publishers are building relevance by listening to how people actually use information—particularly younger audiences who engage outside traditional formats. At the same time, older residents remain loyal to legacy media, creating an opportunity for complementary, rather than competitive, models.

All of the participants in our listening sessions said they would pay attention to a more complete story told or shared about their community, whether it’s good or bad. They just want a fuller, more accurate story. “More attention to things that are, you know, it’s your community, that’s where you live,” said Kristie, a 40-something White woman who lives in Attica and is an industrial seamstress. “You want to know what’s going on and what’s happening versus just watching a funny show on TV.” 

For funders, this reinforces a key point: effective strategies must reflect real audience behavior—not legacy assumptions.

The infrastructure already exists

Across Michigan, community-rooted outlets are already doing the work:

  • In Flint, Flint Beat is delivering accountability and solutions-focused reporting.
  • In Harbor Springs, Indigenous-led reporting is reaching historically underrepresented communities.
  • In Detroit and Kalamazoo, participatory media models are giving residents a direct role in storytelling.

These efforts demonstrate that innovation is not the barrier.

Sustainability is.

Many of these organizations remain underfunded, founder-dependent and at risk of burnout or closure. Others lack the infrastructure to grow, even as their audiences expand.

Two people interview a woman sitting in a chair
Public Media Network youth production. Photo by Public Media Network

The cost of inaction is rising

“This is an urgent situation,” Grimm warned. “If we don’t act now, it will cost more to rebuild later.”

As local news continues to shrink, new pressures—from fragmented attention to AI-generated content—are accelerating the stakes.

Without investment, trusted outlets will disappear. And rebuilding that trust later will be far more difficult—and expensive.

What this means for funders

Many funders are already moving in this direction—supporting community-rooted outlets, investing in new models and recognizing the importance of trust.

But Michigan highlights a persistent gap: early and catalytic investments have not yet translated into sustained, ecosystem-level support.

The lesson is not that the field lacks innovation or funder engagement.

It’s that the work requires longer-term, deeper and more coordinated investment to match the role these outlets already play in their communities.

The future of local journalism will not be built from scratch. It is already being built—inside communities.

For funders, the opportunity now is to build on existing commitments by:

  • Extending funding timelines to support long-term sustainability
  • Investing in leadership pipelines and succession planning
  • Strengthening operational capacity—not just content production
  • Supporting collaboration across legacy and community-rooted models

Trusted journalism is already embedded in communities across Michigan.

The question is whether funding strategies will evolve from early support to sustained investment—in time to ensure these models endure.