Lenfest Institute announces 2026 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange News Creators Network fellows

The Network is part of $1 million in new Institute programming and grant investments to facilitate partnerships between independent news creators and established news organizations.

February 10, 2026

The Lenfest Institute for Journalism today announced the news creators and local publishers selected for the 2026 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange News Creators Network, a four-month incubator that builds partnerships between independent news creators and local news organizations.

The Philadelphia News Creators Network is part of a broader $1 million Lenfest Institute investment to strengthen collaboration between publishers and creators. The effort combines the rigor, standards, and infrastructure of established newsrooms with the innovation, reach, and cultural relevance of creators.

Four teams of Philadelphia-based news organizations and news-focused creators will receive direct funding from a $200,000 pool. The Philadelphia News Creators Network will also offer participants mentorship, learning sessions, and access to the Lenfest Expert Network community of media, technology, and business advisors. The Network is supported by The Lenfest Institute and Comcast NBCUniversal.

The 2026 Philadelphia News Creators Network teams and projects are: 

• Brou Quinn and Terrill Haigler with Green Philly: Engage younger audiences through relatable sustainability stories rooted in Philadelphia’s food scene and everyday waste management challenges.
• Stephanie Humphrey and Chelsea Cox with Technical.ly: Examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping work, governance, and daily life in Philadelphia.
• Elaine Johnson and Alisha Miranda with Resolve Philly: Distribute essential civic information through trusted community networks, including mothers and hospitality workers, ensuring critical news reaches people through channels where trust already exists
• Miguel Dalmau (aka Che Guerrero) and Debora Reaves Charmelus with Inti Media: Reach younger BIPOC audiences through social media and community-centered storytelling focused on civic participation, elections, and Afro Latine culture.

“Whether seeking to expand audience reach or build on established trusted relationships, news content creators and newsrooms are increasingly finding new and innovative ways to collaborate to better inform local communities,” said Lenfest Institute Head of Philadelphia Programs Shawn Mooring. “We are eager to learn more about and support the growth of those relationships.”

The Philadelphia News Creators Network is structured around hands-on collaboration labs delivered through short, two-week learning sprints. Participants test ideas in real time, receive feedback from peers and mentors, and track audience and civic impact as they publish and iterate.

The program will begin with a kickoff session focused on partnership design, editorial standards, and responsible AI workflows. Subsequent sprints will guide teams through audience and community trust building, collaborative editorial workflows, ownership and credit agreements, revenue planning, branding and distribution strategies, and the practical use of artificial intelligence to support efficiency without replacing human judgment. The program concludes with training on analytics and data-informed decision-making.

The publishers and news creators will share insights from their experiments in a public showcase and revenue summit in Philadelphia on Friday, April 24, 2026. Sign up here to receive updates on how to register for the event. 

The curriculum was shaped by extensive community listening and design sessions with 40 local creators and newsroom partners, ensuring the program reflects real-world needs, opportunities, and challenges facing creators and publishers.

The Philadelphia News Creators Network is co-led by Jos Duncan-Asé and Will Toms. AI coaching will be provided by Kris Krüg, and digital strategy and analytics support will be offered by Antoinette Minor Talley.