Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication has received a grant of $2 million to help local news organizations successfully meet the challenges of the digital age. The grant, from the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and the Facebook Journalism Project, will enable Klein College to launch a new program called News Catalyst, providing tools, technology and expertise to news leaders.

Aron Pilhofer, the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation at Klein College and a former digital-news executive for The New York Times and The Guardian, will lead the effort. Over the course of the two-year grant, Pilhofer said, News Catalyst will collaborate with news leaders to develop the product-focused culture needed to better reach communities and generate revenue.

Roxann Stafford, managing director of the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, said she believes the News Catalyst program is designed with the unique offerings Temple and Klein College bring to the challenge.

“Klein College understands the nuanced role technology plays in transformation efforts. It’s not just technology alone,” Stafford said. “We also have to make sure that the ways in which we source and cover stories and connect with the community as a whole are part of this larger push for digital transformation. This is just as much about culture as it is about 0's and 1’s.”

The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund was created in 2018 by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism to help build a sustainable, equitable future for local journalism.

“Philadelphia is at the forefront of journalism innovation, particularly around creating sustainable local news enterprises,” Pilhofer said. “And Klein is right at the epicenter of that effort.”

Pilhofer said News Catalyst initiatives will support the work of newsrooms by partnering to produce case studies and develop best practices. It will also create PressPass, a one-stop “app store” for local news tools. 

Klein College Dean David Boardman said the grant will provide exciting new opportunities for Temple faculty and students.

“This puts our college squarely in the middle of inventing the future for local journalism,” Boardman said. “I can’t think of a more exciting, and more important, challenge.”

Boardman is the chair of the Lenfest Institute, but recused himself from discussions between the Institute and the Knight Foundation about this particular grant.