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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 Meeting the Revenue Challenge – Philanthropy’s Role in Local News. Published by the Wyncote Foundation, this… Read More

As part of Media Impact Funders’ programming on the Future of Public Media (one of our core pillars), we recently hosted an urgent conversation on the role of PBS Kids and public interest children’s media in the aftermath of massive cuts to federal funding and a field increasingly shaped by commercial incentives. The briefing spotlighted the historic role PBS Kids and its production partners have played in delivering research-based educational content for young audiences and ways that funders can help sustain this unique work. Below, you’ll find key takeaways from the program, a brief list of options for funders looking to deepen their engagement, and opportunities to join working sessions next month and in the summer. Please email Shannon Thomas at shannon@mediafunders.org if you would like to get involved in this work. MIF is committed to supporting this critical issue with members and interested funders. We are grateful to our partners: Grantmakers for Education, the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative and Grantmakers for Thriving Youth. And thanks again to the program speakers: Gregg Behr, Executive Director, The Grable Foundation, Sara DeWitt, Senior VP & General Manager, PBS Kids & Education, Jenn Hoos Rothberg, Executive Director,… 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.