New MIF report highlights innovative approaches to journalism funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nina Sachdev, communications director, Media Impact Funders nina@mediafunders.org or 215-574-1322 Media Impact Funders, in Collaboration with Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Publishes Report on Innovative Approaches to Journalism Funding  PHILADELPHIA, PA (JUNE 20, 2018)—Media Impact Funders, a member-supported network of funders who seek to improve society through media and technology, has partnered with Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy to produce a case study report—Funding Journalism, Finding Innovation: Success Stories and Ideas for Creative, Sustainable Partnerships—that surfaces pioneering funding practices in journalism. As the field of journalism continues to grapple with limited resources and dwindling revenues, it’s clear that financial support is needed now more than ever. Philanthropy, in response to the radically changing landscape, is stepping up to revive quality journalism and reconfigure the news media ecosystem. And, in fact, funding for nonprofit news media has seen a notable uptick in philanthropic support, oftentimes in the form of new types of grants. “While this guide shows only a small sampling of how funders and publishers are working together to financially sustain the fourth estate, we hope that it nonetheless serves as a starting point for… Read More

The recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., has thrust racist ideas into the national conversation in ways Americans haven't experienced before. Of course, tensions around race relations in the U.S. have been steadily building over the past few years, with high-profile protests around police shootings and a resurgence in hate groups. Intolerance in the streets has mirrored a spike in divisive rhetoric online, where trolls "drown out the voices of women, ethnic and religious minorities, gays—anyone who might feel vulnerable," observes Joel Stein in Time. But most disturbingly, these same sentiments can now be heard in the highest corridors of power. Read More

By Micah L. Sifrey | originally posted on PhilanTopic. A decade-and-a-half into the digital century, the vast majority of large foundations concerned with strengthening American democracy don’t seem to get tech. According to the new Foundation Funding for U.S. Democracy tool recently launched by Foundation Center, out of a total of 18,446 grants awarded since 2011 by more than 1,300 funders focused on the broad range of issues and efforts related to democracy, just 962 have been focused on technology. Read More

Media Impact Funders and Southern California Grantmakers held a convening of funders on Saturday, September 26 in Los Angeles, at the Annenberg Foundation's Skylight Studios to explore emerging strategies for supporting local and ethnic reporting projects. See our Storify from the day for highlights, speaker presentations and more. Read More

Often, conversations around news impact focus on outcomes. But what if the first step for making a difference in a community is simply having viable, diverse outlets? Read More

By Jon Stahl, communications director, Philanthropy Northwest In the past few days, we’ve hosted a pair of events with our friends at Media Impact Funders, the national network of grantmakers working on media and technology issues. In different ways, both touched on the power of communications — both medium and message — to drive forward the social change issues that animate philanthropy. Read More

On November 20, 2014, as the world waited for the Grand Jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, Media Impact Funders and The Atlantic Philanthropies hosted a conversation on race, justice and media with philanthropic leaders and media makers. The event was designed to explore how media is changing public opinion and policy on multiple criminal justice issues — from the school-to-prison pipeline, to racial profiling, to wrongful prosecution and beyond. Now, with another grand jury deciding not to indict another police office in the killing of yet another unarmed black man, Eric Garner, protests are erupting around the country. This makes it more crucial than ever for funders and producers to consider how the narratives around people of color have played out in mainstream media, and how that correlates to representation, judicial policy and policing. Our event laid out high-impact examples in three core areas — documentary and narrative film, journalism and social and advocacy campaigns — and examined how these forms intersect. We learned how journalism from FRONTLINE informed the creation of the action movie Snitch, which spawned an advocacy campaign on mandatory sentencing minimums. In the same vein, the best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in… Read More

October was jam-packed with events examining how media can inspire creativity and catalyze change. From audio to visual, campaigns to games, virtual war stories to life-threatening investigations, this month offered insights on the impact of many different media forms. Read More

Communications are driving social change more than ever. Media Impact Funders held a morning breakfast conversation with Mary Lou Fulton, Senior Program Manager at The California Endowment; Martha Davis, Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and Chris Hershey, Founder and President of Hershey Cause Communications to share insights about successful communications strategies that are shifting policy and opinion on issues like school discipline reform and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The Meetup was held during the Communications Network conference, Communications Matters (Oct. 8 – 10) to discuss the recently released Communications Strategies that Fast Track Policy Change, sponsored by The California Endowment. Read the Storify from the event. The breakfast was hosted by Mary Lou Fulton, Senior Program Manager, The California Endowment and David Haas, Vice Chair, The Wyncote Foundation and Chair, Media Impact Funders. Read More