The 2017 Media Impact Festival honorees: Where are they now?
You may have heard political commentator Charlie Sykes talk about polarization in this country. He examined it in several newspaper op-eds. He hosted a show about it in President Trump’s first 100 days in office. And he talked about it at our 2017 Media Impact Forum back in June.
Funders turn fresh attention to diversity in media in troubling times
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 […]
Empathy machine? Learn how VR creators are measuring the impact of their projects
By Meghan Ventura | Community & Operations Manager, Games for Change With VR’s promise to help us see the world from someone else’s point of view, one word has become nearly synonymous with virtual reality projects on real-world issues—empathy.
Filmmaker John Singleton reflects on the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots
Twenty-five years ago, John Singleton was a bright young filmmaker at the top of his game. Bursting out of the University of Southern California screenwriting program, he wrote and directed Boys in the Hood, for which he picked up Academy Award nominations for best screenplay and best director.
CNN commentator Van Jones breathes life into national conversations around racial & political divides
On July 24, the night before the opening of the Democratic National Convention here in Philadelphia, Van Jones—CNN commentator, social activist, author and president & co-founder of The Dream Corps—offered his candid thoughts on the state of our increasingly divided nation.
DNCinPHL: Funders and nonprofit news on the scene
Editor’s note: This piece was updated on Aug. 5, 2016, to include DNC contributions by graphic journalist and VR/AR expert Dan Archer, the Youth News Team, and the NoVo Foundation. This week’s Democratic Convention is taking place in our hometown. So, we’re reporting from both inside and outside the event on how nonprofit outlets and their funders are addressing issues at […]
From Black Panthers to Black Lives Matter: Official transcript from our Stanley Nelson event
Editor’s note: Back in February, we held an event with filmmaker Stanley Nelson to talk about his now Emmy-nominated film, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The film sparked the No. 1 trending Twitter hashtag—#BlackPanthersPBS—in the world on the night it premiered on PBS’ Independent Lens. It is also Independent Lens’ highest rated and most-streamed […]
#InequalityIs
What is it: A campaign launched by Ford in late January that seeks to raise awareness about inequality in all its forms and what can be done about it. Ford asked people on social media one question: “Finish this sentence: Inequality is…”
Emerging Strategies for Supporting Local and Ethnic Reporting
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.