The American Journalism Project announced Thursday a $1 million investment in PBS KVIE to support the growth and long-term sustainability of Abridged, KVIE’s digital-first local newsroom.
The three-year grant — among the largest investments ever made in a Sacramento-region news organization — will fund new roles focused on major gifts, audience and digital growth and digital sponsorship sales. The American Journalism Project is a national venture philanthropy organization that invests in nonprofit local news, and its funding of KVIE comes less than 14 months after the launch of Abridged.
“KVIE is making a bold bet on local journalism, pairing the reach of public television with the ambition of a new digital newsroom,” said Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project. “We’re investing in that vision to bring more original reporting to the Sacramento region and help show what’s possible for public media’s future.”
The grant is the second investment through the Public Media Business Transformation Initiative, a joint effort by AJP, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and More Perfect, created after Congress rescinded federal funding for public broadcasting. The first went to Texas Public Radio and its combination with the San Antonio Report, announced in July.
In its announcement of the grant, AJP said the organization and its partners “are supporting organizations with ambitious plans to expand original reporting, prioritize digital-first strategies, and build sustainable local news operations.”
“The combination of editorial ambition and institutional reach positions KVIE to serve as a lighthouse example for public media organizations seeking to deepen their local news service,” AJP wrote in a press release.
A growing news organization
Abridged launched on Sept. 16, 2025, and serves readers and viewers in the four-county Sacramento region. Its newsletters are delivered each week to nearly 60,000 subscribers.
“For more than 65 years, PBS KVIE has served the Greater Sacramento area with information that informs and connects. Abridged carries that mission into local news at a moment when our community needs it most,” said David Lowe, president and general manager of PBS KVIE. “AJP’s investment helps us build the audience and revenue foundation that will keep this reporting free, independent and community-owned for the long haul.”
As news organizations across the region and nation shed staff, KVIE and its Board of Directors have made significant investments in Abridged; its newsroom of roughly 40 full- and part-time journalists is among the largest in the Sacramento region.
“This is a major investment in Abridged, and just as importantly, it’s a major investment in the Sacramento region,” said Ryan Lillis, associate general manager of news at PBS KVIE. “It’s a vote of confidence that people in Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties deserve more original local reporting, and that it should be free to everyone, not just those who can afford a subscription. This support helps us build a newsroom that lasts, so we can keep showing up for the communities we serve.”