A Critical Moment for Public Media

Last week, Congress passed H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which cuts $1.1 billion from public media funding, delivering a devastating blow to the institutions that millions of Americans depend on for trusted information, education, and connection. This decision is unthinkable—and unacceptable. Public media has long served as a critical thread in the fabric of our democracy—fostering civic participation, providing educational resources for children, delivering emergency information, and telling the stories of our diverse communities. These cuts threaten the ability of public media to fulfill its mission, but they also underscore the urgency of supporting its evolution. In order to be solutions-focused and forward-thinking, we should look at this as a chance to reimagine public media’s role as a trusted backbone of civic life. As public media is being reshaped, here are some questions for funders to consider as we envision its future together: ? How can philanthropy support public media’s transformation from a traditional broadcaster into a platform for local information and community storytelling? ? What investments in technology, partnerships, and infrastructure will help public media better serve communities at the neighborhood and regional level? ? How can funders help public media deepen trust and… Read More

For our final newsletter of the year, I’ve asked my colleagues what kinds of media they’re into right now. The choices are endless these days, and I just need to know that there’s more to life than “Cobra Kai.” (I hope you all remember that this was the #1 streaming show during COVID lockdowns. And that’s all I’ll say about that.) As for me, I’m reading a captivating mystery by one of my favorite Philly-based authors, Liz Moore. “The God of the Woods,” which made NPR’s list of best books of 2024, follows the disappearance of a child from summer camp. As the search for her continues, a web of long-buried secrets and dark family histories unravels. If you like mystery and you have ties to Philly (or even if you don’t), you’ll love Moore’s “Long Bright River,” about two estranged sisters living in Kensington, a neighborhood ravaged by the opioid crisis. Even if you hate Philly, just remember: No one likes us; we don’t care. I’m also not even remotely embarrassed to admit that I’m watching a “Drunk History”-esque HBO series called “It’s Florida, Man,” which is the most delightful comedic dramatization of actual… Read More

Catherine Devine (Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow 2024-25) shares reflections from the 2024 JFunders annual meeting in San Francisco: My first encounter with journalism was with my town’s Hometown Weekly—a modest paper that covered everything from local elections to dance recitals, graduations to high school football games. It was only recently, at the JFunders annual gathering at KQED’s headquarters in San Francisco, that I began to reflect on the role that little paper played in my life. Growing up, I didn’t know it, but the Hometown Weekly was like a quiet thread running through Dover, Massachusetts, weaving us together in subtle, necessary ways. It gave neighbors a reason to cheer on the local graduates, it handed a slice of fame to the high school all-stars, and in its own way, it held us—our community—steady, even if I was too young to recognize it. There’s something undeniably powerful in that, a reminder of what local journalism can offer when it’s done right: a small, constant current that flows through a place, letting people feel seen, understood, and connected. During the JFunders gathering, Snap Judgment founder Glynn Washington spoke about empathy as the backbone of good journalism. “Storytelling isn’t about convincing,” he said. Read More

As a photojournalist on staff at the Detroit Free Press, Kimberly P. Mitchell was used to doing “quick turn” stories – snapping photos and short videos that encouraged engagement on the Gannett paper’s website and social media. Read More

It was great to be back in Oxford, England, earlier this month for the Skoll World Forum, a unique gathering of donors and doers from around the world. From the opening courageous conversation between Carole Cadwalladr and Nobel Prize-winning editor and author Maria Ressa, one of the central messages of this year’s World Forum was on the dangers of attacks on press freedom and the corrosive impact of misinformation on all of the vexing issues undermining social justice around the world. Read More

News executives have long wed themselves to the narrative that there is a lack of U.S. audience appetite for international news. But is that true? Read More

Across America, there is a battle being fought in state houses and school boards over the future of our society, and whether we will continue to build on progress to be a diverse and inclusive nation or if we will allow ourselves to revert to being a society that discriminates on the base of race and sexual orientation. Foundations can and should do more to advance the case for policies that counter our deep history of racial injustice and defend the human rights of all people. Read More

Every day, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on, we are witness to bloody crimes against Ukrainian civilians and crimes against humanity, in a growing crescendo of violence that can only be called genocide. The grim photos and videos streaming out of the city of Bucha in recent days, call to mind the chilling images of the killing fields and death camps that pock-marked the darkest moments of the last century. Read More

As we prepare for our first in-person gathering since the pandemic began, the Media Impact Forum at the National Geographic Society on June 1, we have been thinking back to the last time we got together in person for our Forum—titled Radio Active Culture—in May 2019, at the American Philosophical Society, here in Philadelphia. In that program we explored the power of local radio to nurture cultural expression and build community, along with broader efforts of cultural organizations to use digital media to deliver content and programs. Read More