• You are a media innovator or local news professional. Alongside editors and journalists, our network unites media product managers, funders, experts, media researchers and analysts.
• You work in or support independent journalism and advocate for press freedom and the free flow of information.
• You are deeply committed to community-focused collaborative journalism. Network members need to have a strong desire to share their stories, both successes and failures, and learn from one another.

1. Click on the application link above and fill in the short application form.
2. After IPI has vetted your application, you will receive an email invitation to the network.
3. Slack will prompt you to download/open its desktop app, or open the browser version and then log in.
4. Check your email for a confirmation code from Slack and punch it in. 
5. Accept the invitation and click “Join” next to the “Innovation and Local News Network” workspace. 

• We apply a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, bullying and discrimination.
• Be polite and respectful of other members’ work and transparent about your own. 
• NO product sales or other sales spam. 
• NO political debate without a journalistic angle and fact-checking
• When learning and getting inspired from people in the network, attribute appropriately and give credit where credit is due. 
• There are no stupid questions, and everyone has something useful to share. We encourage you to be open and curious about tricky questions in this exciting industry.
• All members must respect confidentiality and avoid sharing sensitive information without consent. We are especially committed to protecting the safety of peers working in politically challenging environments. 

Any violations may result in the removal of the respective member from the platform.

These rules make the network better for all of us. By signing up to the network, you agree to follow them.

• First, we look at the emerging lessons on the conditions and actions that are helping create trusted, sustainable local news organizations in the IPI Report Around The Corner, Around The World: Reviving Local News, Globally. 
• Second, we bring research-based survival strategies into our work for local news worldwide with the Local Media Survival Guide 2022. The main idea is present in multiple newsrooms: on the demand side, local communities have been information-poor, which offers vast opportunities for digital innovation; and on the supply side, digital natives are taking up the challenge by engaging local communities throughout the entire journalistic process.

The Local News & Innovation Network is one of the key ways to cross-pollinate ideas and experiences, and support innovation and sustainability in local newsrooms. Here is where we connect global and local news professionals to promote the exchange of know-how across borders.