WATCH: Webinar focuses on news deserts and what funders can do to keep local news alive
Last week, we hosted a webinar highlighting promising solutions to the problem of news deserts. Nearly every day, we’re reminded that local news in the United States is dwindling. Since 2004, about 20 percent of all metro and community newspapers in the United States—approximately 1,800—have gone out of business or merged. Hundreds more have drastically […]
WATCH: Webinar explores how funders can help rebuild the public square
America’s public square—the institutions, networks, and spaces where Americans engage in the critical issues facing our democracy—is facing a paradigm shift. A combination of economic impacts, advances in technology, and social change are re-shaping how we access and engage with the information that connects us to civic life.
WATCH: Webinar explores philanthropy’s role in maintaining First Amendment freedoms
Philanthropy plays a critical role in maintaining our First Amendment freedoms by supporting institutions and independent voices that strengthen a culture of free, democratic discourse. To continue the conversation around protecting these core values, we invited participants in The Pittsburgh Foundation’s recent First Amendment conferences—The National Conference on the First Amendment: Bedrock of American Freedoms, […]
WATCH: Science communications webinar highlights recent developments in understanding misinformation
This week, Media Impact Funders continued its series of funder conversations to connect grantmakers with research, strategy and practice in science communications with its latest webinar that attempts to understand how behavioral science can help curb the spread of misinformation. Watch the webinar here and use the time stamps below to follow along in the […]
WATCH: Webinar highlights the Shorenstein Center’s research on philanthropic support for journalism
Journalism needs financial support now more than ever, and philanthropy is stepping up to revive quality journalism and reconfigure the news media ecosystem around the world. Recently, Media Impact Funders invited scholars, grantmakers and other practitioners to a webinar organized around two recent reports that shed light on the field of philanthropic support for journalism. […]
WATCH: Science communications webinar explores new approaches to reaching new audiences
Last week, Media Impact Funders continued its series of funder conversations to connect grantmakers with research, strategy and practice in science communications with its latest webinar organized around two upcoming convenings: SMASH (Science Media Awards & Summit in the Hub) and WGBH Innovation IdeaLab. We invited speakers from these two science media conferences to discuss […]
Smithsonian Director Emeritus Brent Glass on science and democracy
Editor’s note: Last month, funders from across the country gathered at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia for our annual Media Impact Forum, a daylong symposium aimed at helping philanthropy focus on the role of science in our current political and social landscape. The day before, a smaller group of funders attended a special meeting to […]
The 2018 Media Impact Forum
On May 10, we convened our annual Media Impact Forum at the American Philosophical Society—the home of America’s oldest learned society—in Philadelphia. From its earliest days, the American republic has relied on scientific inquiry to propel our nation forward, in all facets of our life–in commerce, national defense, social policy and creative expression, among many other areas. […]
How popular culture can elevate the public’s understanding of science
We know that science is at the center of contentious debate on a number of issues such as climate change and vaccine safety. But if The Big Bang Theory—America’s most popular sitcom about a group of lovable physicists—is a testament to anything, it’s that science is also a welcome and inescapable part of people’s lives. […]
News after #MeToo: Insights on covering sexual violence and protecting journalists from harassment
Sexual assault and harassment: Two topics that have gained significant attention since the #MeToo movement. For this webinar, we spoke with Daffodil Altan, producer of the Frontline/Univision documentary Rape on the Night Shift, Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, and our very own Nina Sachdev, MIF’s communications director.
Combating misinformation, Part 3: Understanding and improving how audiences consume facts
Since October, MIF has been hosting a webinar series organized by Kelly Born of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation on how funders can support remedies for the deluge of false facts faced by news consumers.
Combating misinformation, Part 2: Understanding how social media spreads propaganda and misinformation
How central are social and search platforms in spreading propaganda and misinformation—and what can be done to improve the quality of online information? To explore these questions, Kelly Born of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation hosted the second in a series of webinars about how funders can help fight “fake news.” (Read the recap of the […]