Public Media at a Crossroads: What We Heard at the Press Forward Summit
Last month in Charlotte, N.C., Media Impact Funders co-hosted a keynote conversation with Press Forward on the future of public media in a moment of profound change. With the federal government eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the first time in more than 50 years, local public radio and television stations—especially those […]
Navigating Legal Boundaries in Media Support & Advocacy | Safeguarding Media & Journalism Meeting
During our latest Safeguarding Media and Journalism meeting, we discussed the complex questions funders face about what is—and isn’t—permissible when supporting media and journalism in today’s shifting legal and policy landscape. We heard from Maya Raghu—Director of the Protecting and Advancing Diversity Equity, and Inclusion Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law—who […]
MIF Member Spotlight: The Carmack Collective
In just four years, The Carmack Collective has established itself as one of the boldest philanthropic actors in the climate space. To support movement building and cultural change, Carmack invests in a range of media activities, from investigative journalism to comedy, animation, and gaming. Throughout this work, they remain committed to trust-based philanthropy and a belief in the […]
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 […]
MIF Funder Breakfast at IJF: Navigating a Shifting Landscape
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MIF Member Spotlight: Inspirit Foundation
Canada’s media landscape includes a unique force for change: the Inspirit Foundation. Not only is Inspirit one of the most active funders in Canada’s journalism and narrative sphere (and the sole Canadian member of Media Impact Funders), it also stands alone with a 100% impact-invested portfolio, all driven by a singular mission: to shift narrative […]
MIF Member Spotlight: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
For more than 40 years, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has been at the forefront of defending journalists around the globe, ensuring they can report the truth safely and without fear of persecution. As attacks on the press continue to escalate—both internationally and here in the United States—journalists face mounting threats, including online harassment, […]
Journalism’s Threatened Role in Our Democracy
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 […]
Highlights from JFunders24: Day 2
Day 2 of JFunders24 was focused on funder-only discussions, some meant to expand funders’ understanding of journalism grantmaking—such as a session unpacking the mechanics of for-profit grantmaking—and others that were meant to explore opportunities for support in areas such as legal threats, digital and physical safety and security, the backlash against racial equity, and more. […]
Highlights from JFunders24: Day 1
At a time when pillars of American journalism such as The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times are crumbling at the hands of their billionaire owners, leading lights of journalism and philanthropy came together last week for the annual gathering of journalism funders at public media bulwark KQED in San Francisco to explore how […]