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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 of our democracy—fostering civic participation, providing educational resources for children, delivering emergency information, and telling the stories of our diverse communities. These cuts threaten the ability of public media to fulfill its mission, but they also underscore the urgency of supporting its evolution. In order to be solutions-focused and forward-thinking, we should look at this as a chance to reimagine public media’s role as a trusted backbone of civic life. As public media is being reshaped, here are some questions for funders to consider as we envision its future together: ? How can philanthropy support public media’s transformation from a traditional broadcaster into a platform for local information and community storytelling? ? What investments in technology, partnerships, and infrastructure will help public media better serve communities at the neighborhood and regional level? ? How can funders help public media deepen trust and… Read More

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.  But before we kicked off those conversations, we heard a few mainstage presentations about solutions to paywalls, policy action benefiting community and ethnic media in San Francisco, tech platforms enabling more authentic storytelling, and how data uncovered hidden narratives for Black Californians. We also heard this unbelievably powerful story: In August 2023, the Marion County Record, a small Kansas newspaper, made national headlines after a controversial police raid in which authorities seized newsroom equipment and documents from the office and homes of Publisher Eric Meyer and his mother, co-owner Joan Meyer. Shocked by the invasion, Joan died the next day. While the paper was cleared of wrongdoing, the raid prompted widespread criticism as an attack on press freedom. On the morning of Day 2, we heard this powerful account first-hand from Eric, in conversation with Sandy Herz,… Read More

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 best to strengthen public interest journalism. Convened by Media Impact Funders, JFunders24 brought together leading journalism funders from around the country for two days of presentations and discussions with journalists, media executives, academic scholars, political figures and policy experts. We covered a wide range of urgent topics, including frank and practical conversations about mergers and acquisitions, the myriad implications of artificial intelligence and the urgency of addressing the balance of power in journalism and storytelling. Our first day of programming began with an all-star panel of media leaders from PRX, KERA and the Center for Investigative Reporting, as they navigate the challenging passage through mergers and acquisitions, with expert moderation by MIF board chair Kayce Ataiyero, Chief External Affairs Officer at The Joyce Foundation. Then, California State Sen. Steve Glazer spoke with Rebuild Local News board… Read More

Forget what you know about the current infrastructure of digital public forums—listservs, Facebook Groups, Nextdoor. Done right, forums could be spaces where local journalism can thrive, build a real audience, and do the essential work of informing people on topics important in their lives, investigating corruption and malfeasance, and providing useful analysis. Unfortunately, the local forum is an oft-neglected area with a lot of potential upside for communities, local journalism, and American democracy. Watch this compelling discussion that asks us to imagine a wave of thriving, prosocial, public-spirited local forums, ones that are AI-enabed and community-led, and that increase community cohesion and resilience, while strengthening civic engagement and democracy. Speakers: Darryl Holliday, a local news strategist, organizer and journalist, is steward of the News Futures collaborative and an independent consultant. He co-founded the Pulitzer Prize-winning civic media lab City Bureau, where he orchestrated the development of Documenters.org in 11 cities. Eli Pariser, Co-Director of New_Public, is an author, activist and entrepreneur focused on making technology and media serve democracy. Eli previously ran MoveOn.org, co-founded Avaaz (now the world’s largest citizen’s organization) and Upworthy, and wrote the bestselling book “The Filter Bubble.” Leo Suarez, Founder/ Lead Moderator at The DTRaleigh… Read More

While there is general consensus among funders about the significance of the safety and security of journalists, many say that the actual implementation of safety and security measures is falling short. This discussion explores one compelling discovery from MIF’s latest research on the global journalism funding landscape: In a funder survey, when asked about motivations for supporting journalism, ensuring the safety and security of journalists ranked last. The safety of journalists is a global issue, not just confined to conflict zones or oppressive environments, and has worsened in recent years. Watch this compelling discussion featuring Adessium Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists:  Speakers: Ebru Akgün, Public Interest Programe Manager, Adessium Foundation; co-chair, Journalism Funders Forum, hosted at Philea Liz Baker, Senior Director, Humanity United (moderator) Katie Donnelly, Co-Founder, Dot Connector Studios Lucy Westcott, Emergencies Director, Committee to Protect Journalists This discussion was hosted in collaboration with the Journalism Funders Forum. Read More

We’re thrilled to announce exciting leadership changes to the Media Impact Funders Board of Directors! Kayce Ataiyero, Chief External Affairs Officer at the Joyce Foundation, brings her expertise in journalism funding to the role of Chair, while Kaitlin Yarnall, Chief Storytelling Officer at National Geographic Society, steps up as Vice Chair. Kayce joined the Board in 2020, and Kaitlin, who joined in 2018, also serves as the chair of our Program & Communications Board Committee. Kayce and Kaitlin bring decades of journalism, media and grantmaking experience to our board and to the field. We’re incredibly excited about this new chapter with Kayce and Kaitlin leading the way. Their combined expertise and vision will be instrumental in helping Media Impact Funders ensure a thriving media landscape that serves the public interest. A huge thank you to outgoing leaders We extend our deepest gratitude to David Rousseau, Publisher and Executive director of KFF Health News, and Elizabeth Christopherson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rita Allen Foundation, for their incredible leadership as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, since 2013. Their unwavering commitment to MIF’s mission will continue as they… Read More

Eight days after Salvador Ramos turned 18, he walked into his former elementary school armed with a legally-purchased AR-15-style rifle and killed 19 children and two adults—all within about three minutes. The mass shooting happened on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas; it’s now the second deadliest school shooting in the United States on record. One year after the massacre, FRONTLINE, Futuro Investigates and The Texas Tribune produced “After Uvalde,” an investigative documentary seeking answers about how it happened, the botched police response and Texas lawmakers’ failure to pass meaningful gun control laws. The film follows journalist Maria Hinojosa, who speaks with Uvalde community members reeling from the tragedy and government officials who are advocating for and against Senate Bill 145 and House Bill 2744, which aim to raise the legal age to purchase weapons like the AR-15 from 18 to 21. “We do everything to protect these guns. Let’s just try something to protect our children,” a parent of a child killed in the massacre said while testifying in court. Throughout the film, harrowing accounts of the mass shooting are met with disheartening pleas to restrict gun control laws, begging the… Read More

Media Impact Funders has received a three-year, $300,000 general-operating grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic institutions in the U.S. Read More

This members briefing was organized in partnership with New Media Ventures and co-sponsored with Philanthropy New York. All members and supporters of Media Impact Funders have the opportunity to initiate and produce issue-related programming for their peers. Learn more about member briefings. This week, experts from industry leaders New Media Ventures and Accelerate Change joined a discussion about how the media landscape is shifting, why philanthropic investment is necessary, and opportunities for collaboration. Philanthropy has long been critical in sustaining public interest media through the various stages of landscape shifts. Now as the country faces unprecedented polarization, rampant disinformation, and the overall erosion of trust in media, philanthropy must again shift—this time, to target investment in sustainable, scalable media companies and organizations. Across the board, media in the public interest is losing critical ground on emerging social platforms. Meanwhile, an insidious media infrastructure rooted in disinformation is gaining traction on emerging platforms such as TikTok, Twitch, and Discord. These efforts are building massive audiences while also misleading them with completely evidence-free narratives. The pathway is clear and the time is now—in order to protect democracy, we need a decentralized, innovative media ecosystem able to meet targeted audiences where they… Read More

As we prepare for our first in-person gathering since the pandemic began, the Media Impact Forum at the National Geographic Society on June 1, we have been thinking back to the last time we got together in person for our Forum—titled Radio Active Culture—in May 2019, at the American Philosophical Society, here in Philadelphia. In that program we explored the power of local radio to nurture cultural expression and build community, along with broader efforts of cultural organizations to use digital media to deliver content and programs. Read More