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

We’re excited to welcome Patricia Flores to Media Impact Funders as our new Civic Science Fellow! Patricia joins the 2026–28 Civic Science Fellows cohort, the program’s largest to date, bringing together 44 Fellows and more than 60 funding and host partners working to strengthen connections between science and society. MIF is among this year’s host partners. Patricia will manage MIF’s Science & Health Media Funders Network, a new community exploring how media investments can advance public health and science outcomes. The network will help grantmakers understand the funding landscape, identify gaps and opportunities for investment, and explore how audience trust, behavioral science and AI can inform their grantmaking. Patricia will contribute original research and translate the network’s insights into practical guidance for funders across the field. The fellowship is part of a broader civic science movement based on the idea that science serves communities better when more people have a voice in shaping scientific research and its applications. Civic science seeks to build two-way collaboration between scientists and the communities affected by their work. At MIF, Patricia’s work will focus on exploring the role public interest media can play in supporting this collaboration between science, health and civil society. Health… Read More

You might say I started my journey as Executive Director of Media Impact Funders at an inauspicious time. Congress had just rescinded funding for public media and in the preceding months we’d seen massive federal funding cuts across USAID, science, arts and humanities. And of course all this played out as we grappled with the massive disrupting force that generative AI poses to the field. I was tremendously grateful for the opportunity to help steer an organization positioned to have outsized impact at a critical moment—and frankly I was also somewhat overwhelmed by that same opportunity. Luckily, I was fortunate to encounter an old friend whose advice was strident and simple: Start by listening. I was smart enough to recognize wise words, and I began my MIF tenure with a robust listening tour of more than 100 stakeholders—and in many ways that tour never ended. I still spend vast amounts of time on zoom, on the phone or over coffee, hearing from different media funders about what’s working or not working, what they’re most excited about or terrified to tackle. These conversations not only have helped us build the strategy that’s carried MIF through this first year of a new… Read More

At the Media Impact Forum last month, attendees had several opportunities to roll up their sleeves and discuss not only challenges in funding public interest media but the tools, research and frameworks that would move our field forward. We promised that the Forum was only the beginning of a conversation, and today we’re announcing the first round of Learning Initiatives we’re building based on these discussions feedback. These Initiatives are designed to be time-bound and outcomes-based collaborations for members to work together on specific topics and themes, providing opportunities for our members to build tools, collaborate on strategies as well as identify new opportunities for funding and co-funding. Our first two initiatives are open to all members, including those with more experience in these areas and those considering some of these conversations for the first time. They will start meeting later this summer by Zoom and will finish their work by December. At the conclusion, MIF will be sharing outcomes and conclusions with the entire community later this fall. New Tech & Platforms: How do funders help support and build new platforms and distribution tools, particularly in the age of AI? This group will explore approaches and best practices for funders… Read More

Health and science funders have been experimenting with media grantmaking for years including through support for local journalism, documentary film, narrative research, and support for creators. Yet many have been doing this work largely alone. That’s why we’re so excited to announce MIF’s Science and Health Media Funders Network, a dedicated space for funders interested in how media investments can improve health and science outcomes. This network is open to both members and non-members, experienced media funders and those considering their first media grant. By creating spaces for learning and collaboration, and by producing practical research and tools, MIF helps funders act with greater clarity, confidence and collective impact. We’re grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for making this important work possible. Network participants can expect: Dedicated network calls on key challenges including the science and health media funding landscape, audience trust research, documentary and narrative change, and AI’s implications for science media Peer-to-peer learning and small group work Original research and resources for science and health grantmakers Toolkits and on-ramps for those newer to the field A daylong in-person convening for members Fill out this interest form to learn more. Read More

Media Impact Funders is delighted to welcome three outstanding leaders to the Media Impact Funders board of directors: Angelica Das, Director of the Reimagine & Rebuild Program, Democracy Fund Vidya Krishnamurthy, Vice President and Chief of Communications and Strategic External Engagement, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation Marcia Parker, Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships, The New York Times. Angelica, Vidya and Marcia bring decades of journalism, media and grantmaking experience to our board and to the field. Their vision and leadership will help strengthen Media Impact Funders as we work to ensure a thriving media ecosystem that serves the public interest. Thank you to outgoing board member Norris West We extend our deepest gratitude to Norris West, former Director of Strategic Communications at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, for nine years of meaningful service on the MIF board. Norris expertly stewarded our governance committee and has served as a mentor and champion for so many across the media and philanthropy fields. We’re deeply grateful for his dedication to MIF and our members. Learn more about the new board members Angelica Das is the Director of the Reimagine & Rebuild program at Democracy Fund. Read More

In advance of this year’s Media Impact Forum, our staff has compiled a list of reports, articles and recorded programs to help prepare attendees for the event. These are some of the articles and tools that our programming team had in mind when putting together the conference, and also cover earlier conversations that we will build on at the Forum. We will be adding to this list in the lead-up to May 28. Not attending the Forum? The materials here speak to the dominant themes and ideas that will be presented on stage, but will also be key parts of the conversations and events funders can expect from MIF in the coming months. If you have any questions about the links included here, would like more information or have an item you think we should add to the list, please reach out to shannon@mediafunders.org. Media Infrastructure & Sustainability Rebuilding Local Journalism at Scale: A Field-Level Analysis of Infrastructure Needs. Published earlier this year by MIF, this report provides an analysis of the structural constraints shaping the future of local journalism What Comes Next? The Conversation Emerging Around “Rebuilding Local Journalism at Scale” – a follow-up piece… Read More

MIF has received a three-year, $300,000 general operating grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The grant supports MIF’s shift toward more coordinated approaches in a rapidly shifting media landscape, with public media, journalism, documentary and narrative ecosystems increasingly overlapping. MacArthur’s investment will help advance MIF’s priorities to strengthen funder alignment, advance shared learning and support more strategic, collaborative investments in media infrastructure and impact. That means creating space for funders to move not just faster, but smarter, by linking resources, insights and strategies in ways that reflect the complexity of today’s information environment. At a time when the challenges facing public-interest media are both urgent and interconnected, this funding helps position MIF and its network to meet the moment with greater context, coordination and collaboration. We are grateful to the MacArthur Foundation for their partnership and support. Learn more about MIF’s approach.

Editor’s note: At Media Impact Funders, we’re seeing a growing conversation about how philanthropy can strengthen the systems that support public-interest media. At the same time, important questions are emerging about how those systems are experienced on the ground. In this piece, Tracie Powell, founder of the Pivot Fund, offers a perspective rooted in direct work with newsrooms, highlighting the relationship between infrastructure and capacity. Her insights contribute to a broader dialogue across the field about how to align funding strategies with the realities of the organizations they aim to support. Over the past several years, philanthropy has increasingly rallied around the idea that local journalism needs infrastructure—shared services, training programs, accelerators, and technical assistance. This is a critical shift, and long overdue. A new report, Rebuilding Local Journalism at Scale: What nearly 560 applications reveal about scale, sustainability and system-level investments by Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, has helped galvanize this momentum. Drawing on nearly 560 proposals submitted to Press Forward’s infrastructure funding process, the report finds that many of the most persistent challenges facing local journalism are not isolated newsroom problems, but system-level constraints tied to fragmented infrastructure and limited shared capacity. It also makes a compelling… Read More

Media Impact Funders is pleased to announce that Nina Sachdev has been named Deputy Director of External Affairs. Nina has been an integral part of MIF’s leadership for the past decade. She joined the organization when it had just two full-time staff members and, as MIF’s first full-time communications director, helped build the organization’s voice, public presence, and member engagement strategy from the ground up. Over the years, she developed strategic approaches to storytelling and convening that elevated MIF’s profile and strengthened connections across the media funding ecosystem. In her new role as Deputy Director of External Affairs, Nina will take on an expanded portfolio focused on strengthening strategic partnerships, deepening member engagement, supporting fundraising and revenue strategy, and working closely with MIF’s leadership team and Board of Directors to advance the organization’s long-term vision. She will continue to play a central role in shaping how MIF connects funders across journalism, documentary, public media, and technology. “I’ve spent the past decade helping build Media Impact Funders alongside an incredible team, and I’m excited to step into this new role at a moment when the field needs strong connection and coordination more than ever,” Nina said. “As Deputy Director of… Read More

We are so heartbroken by the sudden passing of Jessica Clark, a longtime consultant, collaborator and friend to Media Impact Funders, and the founder and director of Dot Connector Studio. Jessica passed away on Oct. 28. Jessica’s work helped shape much of how we—and the broader field—think about media impact. As MIF’s former Director of Research and Strategy, she brought extraordinary insight and creativity to our collective efforts to help funders and practitioners better understand how storytelling drives change. In addition to the rigorous quality of her research and analysis, Jessica brought a whimsical style to her work—always balancing complex ideas with humor and imagination. She delivered lessons about media impact on laminated place mats, on brightly designed decks of cards, and even with a spinning dial, Twister-style—anything to bring ideas to life in a creative, joyful way. Jessica was instrumental in shaping MIF’s programming, including the relaunch of the Media Impact Festival in 2013/14, which celebrated storytelling’s capacity to strengthen communities and transform society. Her frameworks, tools and curiosity helped build a shared language for understanding how media moves people and inspires change. In the 12 years Jessica spearheaded Dot Connector Studio,… Read More