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

Misinformation is hardly a new problem, but it often spikes around breaking news events. Racist narratives and conspiracy theories have rapidly escalated after the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign. Misinformation from across the political spectrum about the motivations behind the attempted assassination of former President Trump has also intensified. The spread of misinformation is being acutely accelerated by political violence and the amplification of false AI-generated media. Newsrooms and journalists face staggering challenges to deliver reliable information to communities in a presidential election year — especially when these tensions are high. The good news is we know more about the solutions today than ever before. The missing piece is the scale of resources needed to adequately respond to today’s challenges. Philanthropy can address these challenges by combating misinformation and amplifying trustworthy information. Both actions are essential this election year and beyond to ensure communities have the necessary information to make decisions that impact their daily lives. It’s not too late to invest in this strategy. Here are four ways that pro-democracy and journalism funders can act now: 1. Fund the organizers and experts who are mobilizing against misinformation. They are working right… Read More

This database includes a selection of recent philanthropically-funded climate media projects. Designed to show the breadth of investment, it can serve as a starting point for funders interested in supporting a range of climate media, including long-form journalistic projects and newsroom investment, documentaries, podcasts, narrative change initiatives, film/TV, new media, books and more. Explore the database. Notice something is missing or want to add a correction? Add a project using our online submission form.

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

After more than 12 years of service to our growing network of funders who support media and journalism in the public interest, Vince Stehle will be departing from his role as Executive Director. During his tenure, Vince created many new opportunities for foundations and philanthropists to gather and work together to increase their support to journalists, filmmakers and storytellers across the country, contributing to the organization’s growth and impact. Beginning as Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media, one of the first things we did in 2012 was to rebrand the organization as Media Impact Funders (MIF), to reflect a broader range of media activities supported by foundations. At the same time, the field of media philanthropy has grown, with our research documenting that foundation media grants have grown from $1.1 billion in 2009 to more than $3.8 billion in 2021. Under Vince’s leadership, MIF has served this growing field with membership that has tripled over these years. And now, at a moment of even greater expansion and excitement in the field of media philanthropy, MIF is poised for its… Read More

The 2024 Media Impact Forum served as an important reminder that storytelling is the bridge we desperately need to foster understanding in a fractured world. Journalists and creators are on the front lines, crafting narratives that transcend cultural and regional boundaries. Their work is essential for promoting empathy and a more informed future. The Forum highlighted the crucial role of funders in supporting these efforts. 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

In combination with our Snapshot of Global Journalism Funding report—which presents a targeted snapshot of the state of global journalism funding today and is based on a survey of media funders and conversations with funders and journalists—Dot Connector Studio, on behalf of Media Impact Funders, conducted additional research on how 25 of the top journalism funders are funding journalism around the world. We investigated the landscape of global media and journalism funding by exploring trends in recent top funder giving, and how funding is distributed in key geographical areas. This preliminary data shows us that journalism funding is a growing field, with prospects for further growth. Large journalism funders continue to concentrate efforts in North America, but funding in Europe and Africa remains a small but consistent percentage. In general, journalism funding is a small percentage of foundations’ overall giving, but media more generally makes up a larger slice. As definitions around “journalism” and “media” evolve and our world becomes increasingly digital, it’s likely that these percentages will shift. A note on terminology: For the purposes of this report, we use the taxonomy in Media Impact Funders’ grants data map, Foundation Maps for Media Funding, to define “journalism” and… Read More

Since its founding in 2019 by Elizabeth Green and John Thornton (founders of Chalkbeat and The Texas Tribune, respectively), the American Journalism Project has awarded $55.3 million in grants to 44 partner organizations across 33 states. Launched with a $20 million, 5-year commitment from John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with additional support from Arnold Ventures, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, philanthropist Christopher Buck, Emerson Collective, and the Facebook Journalism Project, the Democracy Fund, and Erin and John Thornton, AJP has also launched four nonprofit news startups in areas severely affected by the disappearance of local news. With five years now under its belt, I sat down with AJP CEO Sarabeth Berman to talk about the wins and losses in the epic quest to build healthy information ecosystems in the U.S.—and what more needs to be done.  Nina Sachdev, Director of Communications, Media Impact Funders: Let’s talk about your approach to building the future of local news. For the people reading this who might not yet be funding journalism at the local level, how would you describe what you do? What does it mean to be a venture philanthropy, and why might that be unique… Read More

Last Spring, Emmy-nominated actor Jonathan Majors and his then-partner Grace Jabbari got into a domestic dispute that ended with Majors’ arrest. Shortly after the case made headlines a firestorm of online debate ensued. A groundswell of support grew for Majors—whose swift ascent to Hollywood stardom positioned him as an A-list celebrity—despite evidence of him assaulting and harassing Jabbari. But last month, Majors was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment. After his conviction, Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company–which cast Majors as the villain in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and in the “Loki” series–dropped him from all future projects. The verdict, along with the announcement from Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company, intensified the scrutiny of Jabbari. In the eyes of the public, her claims cost Majors his career; she became the suspect, and he the victim.  Unfortunately, this is how conversations about domestic violence typically play out in the media. People pick sides in the aftermath of a domestic dispute, casting some people as villains but never stopping to unpack the circumstances that led to the behavior in the first place. “If that is the extent of the… Read More

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, established in 1966 by Hewlett-Packard co-founder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson, has a rich history of media funding, one that’s about as old as the foundation itself. Starting with one of its first media grants to the organization now known as KQED, Hewlett has been supporting media, culture and communications in service to its commitment to high-quality, nonpartisan information for more than 50 years. A member and supporter of MIF since 2015, Hewlett is keen to deepen its understanding of effective media grantmaking outside of a dedicated portfolio. Here, the Hewlett communications team shares its thinking around support for media and information ecosystems, the importance of flexible funding, and the foundation’s role in Press Forward, the new $500 million initiative to support local news. Nina Sachdev, Director of Communications, Media Impact Funders: Let’s talk about the evolution in Hewlett’s media grantmaking strategy. What are some of the major takeaways and insights from… Read More