“Media Forward NRW”: State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Media Forward Fund Launch a Regional Upskilling Project for Public-Interest Media

Düsseldorf, May 11, 2026 – North Rhine-Westphalia is the first German state to partner with Media Forward Fund to bring targeted knowledge and best practices for public-interest journalism to the region as part of a three-year project. Effective immediately, media organizations from North Rhine-Westphalia can apply to Media Forward Fund to participate in the “Media Forward NRW” Upskilling Program. Selected organizations will receive targeted support in developing the knowledge and tools needed for sustainable business models — enabling them to strengthen media diversity, particularly in local and regional journalism.

“Local media are an indispensable part of democratic public discourse and, at the same time, important players in our media landscape; they foster transparency and participation,” says Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Media and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. “We need courageous founders who strengthen and enrich independent journalism in our state with innovative business models. That is why, with the ‘Media Forward NRW’ program, we are specifically supporting the business and entrepreneurial skills of the many media professionals who want to break new ground in local journalism.”
 

Seeking additional public-interest media organizations to participate in the project

The “Media Forward NRW” project is primarily aimed at public-interest media organizations in the growth stage, while also offering promising early-stage organizations and established public-interest media organizations the opportunity to participate. Over the course of the three-year project, the fund will maintain a local office in North Rhine-Westphalia and support up to twelve public-interest media organizations at a time.

Participating media organizations will take part in topic-specific Deep Dives featuring expertise from across the DACH region, conduct targeted Learning Visits, and receive coaching tailored to their individual needs. In addition, they will be connected with experts and best-practice media organizations from across the DACH region to facilitate targeted knowledge transfer. Organizations interested in participating can contact office@mediaforwardfund.org.

To mark the launch of the project, around 85 media professionals from across the DACH region gathered in Düsseldorf on May 5-6 for a two-day Deep Dive event. The focus was on different growth paths and revenue models for sustainable business models in public-interest journalism.

About Media Forward Fund

Media Forward Fund is a philanthropic collaboration that supports media diversity in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The goal: Contributing to more quality journalism with viable business models that publish strong, trustworthy content and are sustainably financed in the long term.

The non-profit Fund was established in July 2024 on the initiative of Schöpflin Foundation, Mercator Foundation Switzerland, Volkart Foundation, Rudolf Augstein Foundation, ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, Allianz Foundation, Stiftung für Medienvielfalt, ERSTE Foundation, DATUM STIFTUNG für Journalismus und Demokratie, the MacArthur Foundation (USA), as well as the impact investor Karma Capital Group, and Publix. 

Since then, Deutsche Postcode Lottery, Joachim Herz Foundation, Klaus Tschira Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation, Madsack Foundation, Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, FERS Foundation, Fondation Aventinus, Fondation Leenaards, the City of Geneva, and Press Forward (USA) have joined as funding partners. The Upskilling Program is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Knight Foundation (USA), and the Gottlieb and Hans Vogt Foundation. To date, Media Forward Fund has been endowed with 16 million euros.

Press contact for journalists

Media Forward Fund
Lisa Sympher
Email: lisa@mediaforwardfund.org