Deadline: 18-Mar-25
The Next Challenge for Media & Journalism is a competition managed by American Public Media Group (“APMG”) that is intended to incentivize media innovation, increase media startup activity, and invest in a diverse group of visionary media founders.
There are three 2025 Next Challenge Divisions:
- Future of Local Journalism,
- NewsTech, and
- Open-Source Intelligence.
Funding Information
- This year, six prizes totaling $200,000 will be awarded to five early-stage media startups. Each division winner will receive a grant of up to $50,000 and will be eligible for an additional $25,000 Grand Prize.
Award Divisions
- Startups can apply in one (and only one) of three divisions. An additional Grand Prize Award of up to $25,000 will be given to a Division Winner selected by the Grand Prize Jury.
- Future of Local Journalism Award – This grant of up to $50,000 will fund an innovative startup serving a specific local or regional geography, filling a gap in existing local news services.
- NewsTech Award – This grant of up to $50,000 will fund a startup building digital tools to address the critical tech needs of journalists and local news organizations.
- Open-Source Intelligence Award – This grant of up to $50,000 will support a startup leveraging publicly available data to strengthen the fact-finding, verification, and accountability capabilities of local journalists.
- Additional awards will be given to outstanding Division Finalists, including:
- Vision Award – This grant of up to $12,500 is awarded to a finalist with a bold vision to reinvent media and journalism.
- Trust Award – This grant of up to $12,500 is awarded to a finalist investing in transparency and engagement efforts that build stronger relationships with low-trust audiences.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Next Challenge Competition is open to Ventures that are legally incorporated for-profit and nonprofit media-focused entities based in the United States of America and U.S. Territories.
- An entity is considered U.S.-based if it is incorporated in the U.S. and if the majority of employees and/or contractors live in the United States.
- To be eligible, all applicants must be above the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of legal residence as of the date of entry. Employees, officers, and directors of APMG or APMG’s agents and members of their immediate families (spouses, parents, siblings, and children, regardless of where they live) and those living in the same household as any of the foregoing are not eligible to enter or win. Employees, students, officers, and directors at partner organizations (non-APMG companies that provided financial support to the Next Challenge), and members of their immediate families are eligible to apply.
- Entrants may apply to one and only one Next Challenge Division in a given cycle. If there are two (2) or more Entries by a single Entrant, then APMG will keep the first Entry only, as determined by the timestamps on each Entry as shown by the YouNoodle platform on which the Entry was accepted.
For more information, visit Next Challenge for Media & Journalism.