What Trusting News does

Trusting News is a US-based nonprofit research and training organization founded in 2016 by Joy Mayer after a 20-year career in newsrooms and teaching. Operating from Sarasota, Florida with a distributed team of three core staff plus a seven-member external board, the organization exists to help journalists, newsrooms, and journalism educators demonstrate credibility and actively earn trust with their audiences. Its intellectual framework rests on three pillars — Transparency, Engagement, and Humility — refined through years of research, surveys, and collaboration with academic partners.

The core product surface is a free content and training library rather than a software platform. Headline offerings include Trust Kits (step-by-step guides spanning more than 20 topics from AI ethics to corrections to funding transparency, available in Spanish and educator variants), a weekly Trust Tips newsletter, customized newsroom training delivered via workshops (including at the Poynter Institute), webinars, and an SMS-based daily training channel. Adjacent programs include the Creator Journalist Program (offering independent journalists a $4,000 grant plus 5 months of individualized training), the AI Trust Kit and AI Literacy Trust Kit, the Dimensions of Difference guide co-created with Spaceship Media, and the Advancing Democracy Innovation Fund, which Trusting News administers as a grant program for newsrooms. There is no proprietary technology platform; AI is used only as an internal productivity tool for content summarization and repurposing.

Trusting News monetizes exclusively through philanthropic grants and donations rather than commercial pricing. Disclosed funders include Henry Luce Foundation (a two-year investment announced in 2026), New Pluralists (continued funding in 2024), and the SPJ Foundation (a 2024 grant funding a freelancer-focused Trust Kit). All training and resources are provided to journalists free of charge, and go-to-market is community-led via an 11-member Journalist Advisory Committee, in-person events, organic social, and content marketing. The organization was awarded the Brown Democracy Medal by Penn State University in January 2026.

Name

Trusting News

Legal name

Trusting News, Inc.

Website

https://trustingnews.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Trusting News is a US nonprofit, founded in 2016, that provides free research-backed training, Trust Kits, and grant programs to help journalists, newsrooms, and journalism educators demonstrate credibility and earn audience trust, funded by philanthropic grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Journalism Training and Education

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

Keywords

• Journalism trust training
• Newsroom credibility resources
• Media literacy education
• Audience engagement strategies
• Journalism ethics training

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: Trusting News operates as a nonprofit that relies on grants and donations from philanthropic organizations and individuals. This support allows them to offer most resources and trainings to journalists free of charge. They have received funding from Henry Luce Foundation (two-year investment), New Pluralists, and SPJ Foundation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Trusting News is a nonprofit research and training organization that produces Trust Kits (step-by-step guides on AI, ethics, corrections, sourcing, news literacy, and transparency), a weekly Trust Tips newsletter, and customized newsroom training and workshops. It also operates the Creator Journalist Program and the Advancing Democracy Innovation Fund, all designed to help journalists and newsrooms demonstrate credibility and actively earn trust with their audiences. Most resources and trainings are offered free of charge, supported by grants and donations from philanthropic organizations.

Product overview

Trusting News is a nonprofit research and training project that offers a comprehensive suite of products and services to help journalists demonstrate credibility and earn trust with their audiences. The core offerings include Trust Kits (step-by-step guides covering topics like AI, ethics, transparency, sourcing, and newsroom culture), the Trust Tips weekly newsletter, and customized training programs. Additional offerings include SMS-based training modules, the Dimensions of Difference guide for DEIB work, grant programs like the Advancing Democracy Innovation Fund, and a Creator Journalist Program providing funding and coaching. All offerings are designed for newsrooms, journalists, and educators working to improve public trust in journalism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trust Kits Step-by-step guides for journalists and educators that break down big trust-building strategies into concrete tasks. Topics include AI, ethics, corrections, transparency, sourcing, news literacy, and culture change. Available in multiple languages and as dedicated Educator Trust Kits.
• Trust Tips Newsletter A weekly email newsletter delivering one quick, actionable tip for earning trust directly to subscribers' inboxes each Tuesday, along with updates on Trusting News programs and training opportunities.
• Training & Resources Customized training programs for newsrooms, including quick support on specific topics, self-guided tools, in-person workshops, and webinars delivered by Trusting News staff.
• SMS Training Training delivered via text message where participants receive one text per day with quick tips and resources. Users can pick their preferred time of day to receive messages.
• Dimensions of Difference Guide A guide co-created with Spaceship Media supporting newsrooms in identifying, understanding, and talking about their own differences internally to improve DEIB practices.
• Creator Journalist Program A 5-month program offering creator journalists $4,000 in grants and individualized training to test different ways to demonstrate credibility to their audiences.
• Advancing Democracy Innovation Fund A grant program supporting newsrooms and journalists working on democracy-related trust-building initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Strategies are research-backed, then tested and refined by journalists in a diverse network of newsrooms

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Spaceship MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created the Dimensions of Difference guide with Trusting News, which supports newsrooms in identifying, understanding and talking about their own differences internally.
• Agora Journalism Center at University of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by Andrew DeVigal, the board chair of Trusting News. The center focuses on journalism innovation and civic engagement, aligning with Trusting News mission.
• Missouri School of JournalismminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirector Reuben Stern leads the Missouri School of Journalism's New York program and NYC partnerships for the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Founded by Joy Mayer who spent 12 years at the school.
• Poynter InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusting News conducts training workshops at the Poynter Institute, distributing their Trust Kits through this education partner.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Reporters Committee provides legal resources and training to US journalists; it is adjacent rather than directly competing but serves the same US journalism audience with training-oriented nonprofit resources.

Broad incumbents

• Online News Association: ONA is a membership organization for digital journalists providing training, conferences, and resources on audience engagement and trust, with overlapping audience and similar nonprofit education mission.
• Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy (Harvard Kennedy School): Shorenstein researches media trust, misinformation, and journalism practice; it complements Trusting News's training focus with academic research output targeting overlapping audiences of journalists and policymakers.
• Poynter Institute: Poynter is a major journalism training and research organization; Trusting News already delivers workshops there and Poynter sells a NewsU course on trust-building, making it both a distribution partner and the closest direct functional peer for journalism training.
• Society of Professional Journalists: SPJ is the largest US journalism professional association focused on ethics and standards; Trusting News's assistant director is a former SPJ president and SPJ Foundation is a current grant funder, making it both peer and partner.

Direct peers

• News Literacy Project: News Literacy Project is a nonprofit that builds news literacy resources for educators and the public; it shares Trusting News's educator focus and free distribution model, and addresses adjacent sides of the same media-trust problem.
• American Press Institute: American Press Institute is a nonprofit that researches and trains journalists on audience engagement and credibility, overlapping directly with Trusting News's mission and audience segment of US newsrooms and journalists.
• First Draft (now Information Futures Lab at Brown): First Draft historically trained journalists and platforms on misinformation verification and credibility, sharing Trusting News's research-to-training-to-newsroom workflow, though it is now part of Brown's Information Futures Lab.
• Solutions Journalism Network: Solutions Journalism Network trains journalists in constructive and solutions-oriented reporting and is part of the same trust-and-engagement nonprofit cluster serving US newsrooms with research-backed frameworks.

Others

• Knight Foundation: Knight Foundation is a major journalism philanthropist funding trust, audience engagement, and local news; it operates as a funder ecosystem participant rather than direct training provider, comparable to Trusting News's foundation partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/trustingnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trusting-news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Trusting News