More than 80% of U.S. journalism jobs have been lost since 2005, with 20,000 jobs disappearing in the last 3 years1
Local news is vanishing.
Climate coverage is shrinking.
Disinformation is flourishing.
But climate journalism funding is outmatched — by 20 to 1 — by the industry working to bury it.
There’s just $50 million in philanthropic funding for climate news outlets versus more than $1 billion spent on communications by fossil fuel companies and climate opponents.
The climate communication funding gap
*Estimates drawn from report by Impact Architects (2026), Meaghan Parker (2025), Climate Accountability Research Project (2024), InfluenceMap (2022), Climate Investigations Center (2019).
The reality: Climate coverage is not meeting demand
Nearly 40% of U.S local newspapers have vanished since 2005 – that is 3,500 in all2
The decline in global climate coverage since 20213
More than 75% of global survey respondents are interested in climate news but only 47% are receiving it4
U.S. voters agree that journalists play an important role in increasing the global understanding of climate change5
Independent, credible climate journalism can only meet the demand for climate news with dedicated, sustained philanthropic support.
We have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of climate journalism.
And of climate change itself.
Purpose & Members
12 newsrooms. One message.
Launched in February 2025, the Climate News Task Force (CNTF) is a first-of-its kind collaboration. It brings together 12 diverse, nonprofit news organizations that produce or publish climate news.
Meet the members:
Investigative
Focusing on accountability through deep investigation.

Drilled
Drilled is a global, multimedia investigative newsroom focused on climate accountability.

Floodlight
Floodlight investigates the powers stalling climate action.

Center for Investigative Reporting / Mother Jones
A non-profit newsroom that publishes Mother Jones, produces the Reveal radio show / podcast and is home to CIR Studios, an award-winning TV and documentary film unit.
National Climate
Reporting on climate, energy, food and environmental change.

Canary Media
Canary Media reports on the transition to clean energy and solutions to the climate crisis.

Grist
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to reporting on climate change.

High Country News
Nonprofit independent magazine, High Country News shines a line on all the complexities of the West via unblinking journalism.

Sentient
Sentient investigates and explains the impacts of factory farming on climate, food, rural communities, health and animal welfare.
Regional Collaborations
Focusing on the issues shaping regions and communities across the US.

Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk
The Desk is a journalism collaborative covering the United States’ largest watershed.

Mountain West News Bureau / NPR
The Mountain West News Bureau is a daily and investigative news collaboration between major market public radio stations in seven states (AZ, CO, ID, NM, NV, UT, WY) and NPR.
Local and Community-Centred Voices
Elevating underrepresented voices on a local and community level.

Planet Detroit
Planet Detroit’s journalism amplifies local voices, holds power accountable, spotlights solutions and inspires hope in Michigan and across the Great Lakes.

The Xylom
The Xylom covers the world’s most pressing health and environmental disparities.

ICT
ICT’s mission is to share more stories from Indigenous communities, told by Indigenous voices, to honor our ancestors and empower future generations.
Action
First, collaboration.
We support collaboration between newsrooms across three interconnected functions that reinforce and amplify one another.
Collaboration
We are a non-competitive space for newsrooms to build trust, form editorial partnerships, co-publish stories, expand audiences and pool data.
Capacity building
We provide shared content tools, technical infrastructure, operational best practices and coordinated fundraising that reduce redundancy and build the capacity of member newsrooms.
Funder advocacy
We create the field-wide case for dedicated climate journalism funding through research, donor education, and recommendations.
Then, action.
CNTF members are already working powerfully together.
Here's how:
Editorial mentorship
Reporting from The Xylom, finalized in partnership with Floodlight’s veteran investigative editor and Drilled’s audio reporting team, resulted in Texas regulators finalizing the installation of the first air pollution monitor in San Patricio County, Texas, where oil export and refinery infrastructure is rapidly developing and toxic chemical risk increased by 17 times in the past half decade. The story was also a Best Investigative Journalism Award finalist in the 2026 Nonprofit News Awards.
Audience Growth
A joint newsletter tool turns a single reader interaction into shared subscriptions across multiple CNTF newsrooms. The tool multiplies reach without multiplying cost. You can join it using the sign-up box below.
Data sharing
Information exchange between outlets leads to new reporting. For example, Sentient’s Food & Farming Journalism Network gets advance access to new data from Grist, enabling stories that none of the outlets could produce independently.
We’re in the news
Here’s some recent media coverage for the Climate News Task Force.

Nieman Lab
The year of the network
December 18, 2025

Center for Cooperative Media
Here are the top 10 journalism collaborations of 2025
December 18, 2025

Undark
Will science journalism funders step up or retreat?
October 15, 2025

RJI Online
Building a centralized content sharing platform for newsrooms
August 25, 2025

ReportEarth
What climate journalism means heading into a 1.5 C world
June 14, 2025

Nieman Reports
Battling a Climate Change Backlash
May 6, 2025
Funding
But we need to do more, and that requires more funding.
We recommend doubling the annual philanthropic investment in climate journalism.
*Estimate drawn from reports by Impact Architects (2026), Meaghan Parker (2025)
We believe that three mechanisms could get us there
Press Forward Climate
An aligned giving group within Press Forward to support the field of local and national climate journalism, including through collaboration.
ClimateNewsMatch
An expert council connecting funders with vetted climate newsrooms and a clearing house for information, guidance and analysis.
Climate Journalism Pooled Fund
Multiyear general operating support for editorially independent climate newsrooms.
The climate crisis demands journalism that can match its scale, urgency and complexity. This is how you can help:
Fund CNTF Newsrooms Directly
Directly fund the work of 12 independent newsrooms producing rigorous climate reporting – from national investigations to Indigenous-led and regional coverage – and expand the stories reaching the public.
Invest in the Collaborative
Support CNTF. Every dollar invested in shared tools, editorial coordination and collaborative capacity strengthens all 12 member newsrooms at once.
Help us Build the Field
Help us make the case to peer funders – by co-hosting briefings or using your voice to advocate for supporting the infrastructure necessary for credible climate information.
Get in touch
To get involved in funding, supporting, hosting briefings or any other aspect of the CNTF, please reach out to us at contact@newscollaborative.org

Meaghan Parker
Council for the Advancement of Science Writing

Emily Holden
Floodlight
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Acknowledgements and sources
CNTF is steered by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and Floodlight, and has received funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Meliore Foundation and Heineman-Russell Family Foundation.
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