New evidence shows that documentary films can improve women’s and girls’ lives

By Kimberly Sevcik | Director, International Engagement, ITVS Many of us who work in media believe that social documentaries and storytelling can change hearts and minds and even behavior—and with the field’s growing emphasis on impact measurement, Independent Television Service (ITVS) set out to prove it. Read More

By the American Press Institute As nonprofit funding of news grows, what are the best practices for ensuring editorial independence? Read More

In a recent episode of Current's podcast "The Pub," host Adam Ragusea called the implications of the American Press Institute's recent report on the ethics of foundation-supported journalism "horrifying." Are nearly half of funders investing in journalism only doing so to advance narrow policy goals? On closer read, Ragusea’s hot take on the topic not only ignores a fair bit of nuance in the report itself, but misses another piece of the story entirely. Namely, that more foundations than ever are willing to support journalism that addresses social issues head-on and dig deeply into corporate and political corruption. Read More

The American Press Institute—an educational nonprofit that helps advance news media in the digital age—released a report last month that explores the ethical terrain of nonprofit journalism.  “The ethics of taking grants from foundations and gifts from donors to produce news is still evolving and not without controversy,” the report reads. Read More

The recent release of the 2016 National Education Technology Plan reflects a growing interest in supporting a national vision to “ensure equity of access to transformational learning experiences enabled by technology.” Read More

On the one hand, President Obama dubbed this weekend’s historic climate change agreement in Paris “a turning point for the world.” On the other, it “didn’t save the planet,” according to environmental activist Bill McKibben. However, "it may have saved the chance of saving the planet." Either way, there’s much more to be said and done—and these are no small stakes. Billions of philanthropic dollars have already flowed into environmental research and initiatives. Media is crucial in this sector, both to advance advocacy around solutions and to report on the real human consequences of related shifts in weather, air quality, and food systems, among other topics. In November, MIF and Vulcan Productions convened leading funders and producers to discuss a slate of ambitious projects on related issues, and examine how best to both build and evaluate their impact. 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

PARK CITY, Utah — When media funders talk about impact, what do they mean, and how do they demonstrate it? At the Sundance Film Festival, Media Impact Funders (MIF) released a new report, Funder Perspectives: Assessing Media Investments. It explores the multiple and sometimes overlapping lenses through which grantmakers view media evaluation, and confirms that there are still many unanswered questions. The report contributes to a growing dialogue about ways to quantify and qualify the impact of public interest media. Such examinations have stimulated debate among both funders and grantees. Read More

Tracking the impact of journalism is a bit like reporting a story. The first facts to establish on the ground are “Who, what, where, when?” — and even that’s not always easy. “How?” and “Why?” take quite a bit more digging, and the deadline pressure is always on. The hardest question to answer at all — Sunday magazine level hard — is “So what?” Methods for evaluating news were high on the docket at last week’s Online News Association Conference (ONA14), where nearly 2000 journalists gathered to discuss new practices, platforms, and tools. Read More