OutSFL has been selected to join the 2025–2026 Economic Opportunity Lab, a major national initiative launched today by the Local Media Association (LMA) and Comcast NBCUniversal to support local journalism focused on economic mobility and opportunity.

The Lab brings together 48 local news outlets and 10 NBC and Telemundo owned television stations to produce in-depth reporting on how neighborhoods, policy decisions, education systems, and socioeconomic conditions shape access to opportunity. Reporting across the cohort will be guided by new research and datasets from Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based organization dedicated to understanding and improving economic mobility in the U.S.

As part of this new partnership, OutSFL will receive funding and editorial support to explore the barriers and pathways to economic mobility within South Florida’s LGBTQ communities. Journalists will use tools like the Opportunity Atlas to examine how place, policy, and identity intersect — and what that means for local residents working toward stability, security, and upward mobility.

“Supporting local journalists who understand their communities is essential to improving economic mobility,” said David Forte, Director of Research Translation and Strategic Initiatives at Opportunity Insights. “We’re excited to see how reporters bring this data to life through storytelling that motivates communities to pursue strategies for improving opportunity.”

The Lab is part of Project UP, Comcast’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity and economic opportunity nationwide. LMA will oversee the fellowship, provide training, and develop a national playbook to help newsrooms localize and apply Opportunity Insights data in meaningful ways.

OutSFL joins a list of other LGBTQ outlets, including the Bay Area Reporter, Washington Blade, and Windy City Times.