Stay up-to-date on the latest news, trends and perspectives in media and philanthropy.

By Games for Change Every year, the Games for Change Festival celebrates the most impactful digital games that touch on social issues and aim to inspire their audiences to action. As video game’s audience increases—with gamers in 60 percent of American homes, according to the Entertainment Software Association—so does their potential to impact even more […]

In a recent episode of Current‘s podcast “The Pub,” host Adam Ragusea called the implications of the American Press Institute’s recent report on the ethics of foundation-supported journalism “horrifying.” Are nearly half of funders investing in journalism only doing so to advance narrow policy goals? On closer read, Ragusea’s hot take on the topic not […]

For the most part, our analyses at Media Impact Funders are focused on gauging the positive impact of media. But it’s also worthwhile to take a moment and acknowledge that media practices that put profits over purpose can undermine society. There’s a growing concern that America’s major media companies, far from serving as the watchdog […]

“It was too close for comfort, but maybe that was the point,” writes The Case Foundation’s Louise Storm of her first virtual reality experience. Viewing the New York Times’ series “The Displaced”—which tells the stories of three children displaced by war—her initial response was tears. But then the chief of staff to CEO Jean Case began […]

Following the buzz in journalistic circles, it seems clear that interactive stories and productions have the potential to engage audiences in new and exciting ways. But how does this work exactly—and when should funders be stepping in to invest more seriously in such experiments?

In November, Media Impact Funders and Vulcan Productions convened award-winning media makers, funders and researchers to share best practices for crafting high-impact media on climate change. In this guest post, Annie Neimand—the research director and executive editor for the frank conference and website—rounds up the latest research on what works in environmental communications, which she […]

On the one hand, President Obama dubbed this weekend’s historic climate change agreement in Paris “a turning point for the world.” On the other, it “didn’t save the planet,” according to environmental activist Bill McKibben. However, “it may have saved the chance of saving the planet.” Either way, there’s much more to be said and […]

It’s coming up on two years since MIF kicked off our Assessing Media Impact initiative with a daylong gathering at the Paley Center, and the launch of the now flourishing AIM section of our site. Over that time, we’ve tracked the emergence of many different tools, frameworks and case studies focused on methods for evaluating […]

Often, conversations around news impact focus on outcomes. But what if the first step for making a difference in a community is simply having viable, diverse outlets?

Puzzling through your theory of change for a journalism grant? Wondering what happened once the stories you supported hit the street? Get your mitts on one of our handy new Journalism Impact Spinners, released at the 2015 Media impact Forum.

Given today’s thriving documentary marketplace, competition for audience attention and action is fierce. That’s why we’ve chosen to honor five pioneering film teams for their breakthrough approaches to constructing high-impact social campaigns.

Increasingly, foundations are supporting journalism projects — to bolster local and statehouse coverage, illuminate pressing social issues, or ensure that governments and corporations remain accountable. However, when it comes time to evaluate the outcomes of those investments, conflicts with fiercely independent newsrooms can arise. As our January report, Funder Perspectives: Assessing Media Investments revealed, program […]