2026-2028 Strategic Plan

Since 2012, the Center for Community Media (CCM) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY has supported community and ethnic newsrooms—first in New York City, then nationally as of 2019.

Today, we begin a new chapter. 

Starting in 2026, CCM shifts from focusing on the sustainability of individual newsrooms to strengthening the sector as a whole. We do this by generating shared knowledge, amplifying effective practice, and unlocking transformative opportunities for the field.

This is a deliberate choice, grounded in a simple reality: CCM is an intentionally small team with a limited budget, and the community media sector is large, growing, and underserved. A field-building approach is the highest-leverage path to our mission of ensuring that community media is a central pillar of journalism.

Our work is organized around three core pillars—Analyze, Amplify, and Activate—designed so that insight and shared power flow across all community media:

• Analyze: Producing the data and research the sector needs to understand itself and be understood by funders and partners.
• Amplify: Elevating effective practices and ensuring community media leaders are recognized on journalism’s main stages.
• Activate: Connecting historically isolated outlets and creators to the resources, technology, and policy opportunities they need to thrive.

Explore Our Vision

Dive into the details of our new framework, our shift toward collective power, and how we plan to support the field.

Read the 2026-2028 Strategic Plan

Let’s Build Together

This strategy is designed for partnership and collaboration. If reading the plan sparks ideas, feedback, or opportunities to collaborate, we want to hear from you. Reach out to LaMonte Guillory, Director of Communications Strategy, to start the conversation at lamonte.guillory@journalism.cuny.edu.