Local News Day

What Local News Day does

Local News Day is a nonprofit initiative organized as a national day of action that connects American communities with trusted local news outlets. The initiative, managed by Montana Free Press from Helena, Montana, coordinates a coalition of more than 1,000 participating newsrooms that host subscriber drives, reader events, and community activations on April 9 each year. The primary audience is American news consumers seeking reliable local coverage and the local newsrooms seeking to grow subscriptions and deepen community engagement.

The core product is the Local News Finder, a free web-based discovery tool launched on March 26, 2026, at LocalNewsDay.org. The tool enables users to locate trusted local news sources covering their specific geographic communities and is powered by Google mapping technology. The platform was built collaboratively by teams at Newspack, Automattic, and WordPress, and the website itself is designed with WordPress. The initiative does not operate commercial distribution channels; access to the tool is self-serve, free of charge, and available to all U.S. consumers without restrictions.

The business model is nonprofit rather than commercial. There is no pricing structure, subscription tier, or transactional revenue stream associated with the Local News Finder tool or the Local News Day event itself. Operations are sustained through community participation, sponsorships, and partner support coordinated by Montana Free Press under its nonprofit governance. The organization has no disclosed funding rounds, no disclosed headcount, no management team listings, and no patents, trademarks, or regulatory actions on record. Strategic support is delivered through partnerships with Montana Free Press (managing partner), Newspack, Automattic, WordPress, and Google.

Name

Local News Day

Legal name

Local News Day

Website

https://LocalNewsDay.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Local News Day is a nonprofit initiative managed by Montana Free Press that coordinates a national day of action connecting American communities with trusted local news. It operates the free Local News Finder tool, built with Newspack, Automattic, WordPress, and Google mapping technology, and engages 1,000+ participating newsrooms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Journalism Advocacy

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Neighborhood Community Platforms (MPACAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB), Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)

Keywords

• Local news discovery
• Community journalism support
• News finder tool
• News awareness campaigns
• Nonprofit media initiative

Headquarters

HQ city

Helena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Nonprofit Initiative Operations: Local News Day is a nonprofit initiative managed by Montana Free Press. The initiative operates through community participation, sponsorships, and support. No commercial revenue model is described.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Local News Day coordinates an annual National Day of Action (April 9) that connects communities with trusted local news outlets, supported by a free web-based discovery tool called Local News Finder. The initiative mobilizes more than 1,000 participating newsrooms to run subscriber drives, reader events, and community activations, and helps Americans find local news sources covering their communities via a Google-powered mapping tool hosted at LocalNewsDay.org.

Product overview

Local News Day is a national day of action initiative coordinated by Montana Free Press that connects communities with trusted local news. The primary offering is the Local News Finder web tool, launched March 26, 2026, which enables Americans to discover local news outlets in their communities. The initiative is supported by a network of over 1,000 participating newsrooms that engage in subscriber drives, reader events, and community activations on April 9 each year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Local News Finder A free web-based discovery tool that uses Google mapping technology to help Americans locate trusted local news sources covering their specific communities. Built for individual readers as well as participating newsrooms seeking visibility.
• Local News Day Annual National Day of Action An annual community mobilization campaign coordinated on April 9 each year, in which 1,000+ participating newsrooms, partners, and community groups host subscriber drives, reader events, and community activations to celebrate and strengthen local journalism.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 newsrooms signed on for the initiative

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Montana Free PresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2026Montana Free Press serves as the managing partner of Local News Day, providing organizational governance and operational support for the initiative. Located in Helena, MT.
• NewspackcoreTechnology or IntegrationNewspack team contributed to building the Local News Finder tool at LocalNewsDay.org, a free discovery tool for Americans to find trusted local news sources.
• AutomatticcoreTechnology or IntegrationAutomattic team contributed to building the Local News Finder tool at LocalNewsDay.org, a free discovery tool for Americans to find trusted local news sources.
• WordPresscoreTechnology or IntegrationWordPress team contributed to building the Local News Finder tool at LocalNewsDay.org, a free discovery tool for Americans to find trusted local news sources. The website is designed with WordPress.
• GoogleflagshipTechnology or IntegrationGoogle provides the mapping technology that powers the Local News Finder tool, enabling geographic discovery of local news sources across communities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Local News Day