Newsroom Pivot Program 2026: 2nd cohort applications
Our entrepreneurial training is open for its second round.
This is a four-month launch program with the JX Fund and the Center for Sustainable Media, built for exiled newsrooms, creators, and public-interest information projects that want to move from idea to live product without months of strategy work before anything ships.
It is open to media ventures in exile from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, and Syria that aim to reach audiences inside their country of origin.
We ran this for the first time in 2025, and have changed a lot based on what worked and what didn't, and iterated accordingly.
The program now runs 18 weeks starting July 13, 2026: the first half to build and launch, the second half to test and improve.
We've also reworked the application so the first step is as light as possible. The expression of interest is short on purpose, the goal is to hear your idea, not to make you write (or AI-generate) a long grant application.
If you have questions before you apply, email Patrick or message him on Signal (patrickb.01). Happy to talk through whether your idea is a fit before you fill anything in.