Empathy machine? Learn how VR creators are measuring the impact of their projects
By Meghan Ventura | Community & Operations Manager, Games for Change With VR’s promise to help us see the world from someone else’s point of view, one word has become nearly synonymous with virtual reality projects on real-world issues—empathy.
2017 Media Impact Festival Case Studies
Since 2014, Media Impact Funders has been showcasing the work of producers dedicated to creating documentaries in the public interest through our annual Media Impact Festival. This year’s Media Impact Festival is a partnership with the AFI DOCS Film Festival in Washington, D.C., which took place from June 14-18. Our festival celebrates the following 10 […]
Messaging, misinformation and movements: Impact takeaways from the Frank conference
Last month, we headed down to Gainesville, Fla., for the annual Frank gathering of people who use communications to drive social change. This year, the conference felt more necessary than ever. Many of us in the social-change sector are looking for answers to how we continue our work in a culture that not only rejects […]
What muddled podcast metrics reveal about the challenges of assessing new media markets
By Jessica Clark and Sarah Lutman Podcasting is burgeoning, as we document in a new report we wrote for the Knight Foundation, From Airwaves to Earbuds: Lessons from Knight Investments in Digital Audio and Podcasting. Digital distribution options are allowing media makers to bypass traditional radio broadcasters to reach listeners directly through a growing number […]
New year, new impact resolutions
Inauguration day is just around the corner, and many funders and journalists are increasingly concerned about the role media play in a free and democratic society. The field is moving quickly to understand the impact of “fake news,” propaganda, hoaxes and biased coverage—both in how they skew information relating to the issues funders care about, […]
6 takeaways from supporting the Solutions Journalism Network
By Jonathan Gruber | Campus and Community, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust At the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust (EFCT), we focus as much on helping grantee partners become stronger organizations as on helping them achieve greater impact. These priorities go hand-in-hand, and we invest in the capacity our partners need to enhance and expand their work […]
True story: How fake news skews our impact models and what we can do about it
Up in the lofty reaches of theory, the case for the impact of news is clear: Reporters report facts in good faith, and audiences consume these stories and deliberate with others who might not share their perspectives. In the process, they’re better informed to act in their role as citizens, and a better democracy results. […]
Does fact-checking work? Here are 4 big questions
Once the dust settles on this notably mendacious and polarized election, one unlikely winner will emerge: the fact-checker.
No comments? NPR’s decision highlights difficulties in evaluating news engagement
Last month, NPR decided to remove comments from its site altogether, noting that user engagement was higher through other channels, and that comments were frequently not leading to productive conversations.
Play your way to impact with a new media engagement strategy game
Producing a high-impact media project can be a befuddling prospect. What starts as a germ of an idea—“Let’s fund a film about X to solve Y!”—quickly snowballs into a social media campaign to reach Z, an app to accomplish A and B, and so on. And then there are all those outcomes to track for each […]
5 ways mapping can help you increase media impact
Media projects are often judged primarily on their own merit. When it comes to gauging impact, however, context rather than content can be king. Mapping tools can help to reveal that context, making it easier to both design outreach and assess outcomes. Here are five mapping strategies to consider:
2016 Media Impact Festival Case Studies
Since 2014, Media Impact Funders has been showcasing the work of producers dedicated to creating documentaries in the public interest through our annual Media Impact Festival. This year, we are celebrating the power of interactive technologies to deepen the relationship between news and documentary projects and their audiences. Our 2016 selections — celebrated at our annual […]