Focus Area: Public Square

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NYU and De Correspondent Launch New Laboratory for Community Supported Investigative News

Josh Stearns
/
March 28, 2017

Rebuilding trust in journalism means rethinking the relationship between readers, revenue and reporting. That idea is at the heart of a new project launching today.

The Membership Puzzle Project, a collaboration between New York University and Dutch news site De Correspondent, will create a laboratory to study ways community engagement can strengthen investigative reporting and make journalism more sustainable. With $515,000 in funding from Democracy Fund, First Look Media and Knight Foundation, the Membership Puzzle Project will tackle specific problems and develop scalable solutions for developing strong membership programs, and share those lessons throughout the United States’ journalism landscape.

De Correspondent launched in the Netherlands with one of the largest crowdfunding campaigns in journalism and now has over 50,000 members paying $63 a year, with an 80 percent renewal rate. Their reader-funded $3.2 million budget supports 20 full time “correspondents” who work closely with their communities to report on issues of critical public interest. De Correspondent operates in the open, sharing their budget and decision-making transparently and building deep and diverse relationships with its community in ways that strengthen the reporting and the sustainability of the newsroom.

De Correspondent announced its expansion to the U.S. market today.

The site will be incubated at New York University for the first year, where professor Jay Rosen will help translate their model to the United States and convene leading thinkers and innovators from across U.S. to exchange ideas, spread best practices, and train people on both sides of the project. This two-way laboratory will serve as a catalyst for creating new ways of supporting and strengthening the Fourth Estate.

This project is part of more than $12 million in new grants dedicated to supporting a robust and free press announced by the Democracy Fund and our partners at First Look Media earlier this week. Other grants include $3 million each to the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity, and ProPublica, $800,000 to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and $500,000 to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University. In addition, Democracy Fund announced a $1 million commitment to a new fund to invest in state and local investigative reporting.

A healthy democracy requires a free and robust press that responds to the needs of its communities and holds power to account. The critical role of the press in American democracy, as expressed in the First Amendment, is rooted in the information needs of communities which seek to be self-governing. At a time when the press is under attack and traditional business models continue to erode, the public becomes all the more central to securing and supporting the critical democratic function of journalism.

Democracy Fund’s investment in this project builds on more than $18 million in earlier grants which have focused on supporting a vibrant public square in America. We are particularly excited for how this project can dovetail with the work of the recently launched News Revenue Hub which is providing shared membership administration and strategy for small local newsrooms and topical reporting sites around the country. That work is already seeing profoundly exciting results and they will be core partners in the work with New York University and De Correspondent.

For Jay Rosen, one of the pioneers of civic journalism in the 1990s, this project is the culmination of years of work focused on putting people at the center of journalism. Ten years after Rosen dubbed the term “the people formerly known as the audience” this project asks, what is the social contract between journalists and the public that we need today? De Correspondent provides one answer to that question.

De Correspondent has shown that when newsrooms embrace the public as core to their work they can navigate through the stormy waters we are currently facing. Together we believe this project can help more newsrooms chart a path towards a robust future.

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Our Commitment to an Independent Free Press

Joe Goldman
/
March 27, 2017

At a time when news organizations find themselves under attack, the Democracy Fund along with our partners at First Look Media are announcing today the largest grants either organization has made to date in support of journalism.

For years, the media industry has struggled against major economic threats that have severely undermined our fourth estate. In response, the Democracy Fund’s Public Square program has worked with journalists across the country to experiment with new models that can reinvigorate local media and ensure that newsrooms are able to fulfill their core responsibilities to a healthy democracy.

But the political attacks that journalists have faced over the past 18 months represent something wholly new and potentially toxic to a free and open society.

At the Democracy Fund, we believe that a robust free press is essential. We must not take it for granted. In times like these, we all must do our part to stand with journalists and fight for core democratic values and norms.

With this in mind, the Democracy Fund is joining with First Look Media to make major commitments of more than $12 million to support an independent, free press. Included in this commitment are grants of $3 million each to three national nonprofit newsrooms, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity, and ProPublica.

The Democracy Fund will complement its support for these national newsrooms with a $1 million contribution towards the creation of a State and Local Investigative Fund to support the crucial investigative work of local reporters, as well as a $200,000 contribution to the recently announced Knight Prototype Fund on misinformation and trust in journalism.

The Democracy Fund and First Look Media are also announcing grants to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University and a new program led by NYU Professor Jay Rosen to establish a laboratory for community-supported investigative reporting.

Together, these grants will support some of our nation’s most important investigative newsrooms. Not only that, these newsrooms are building new models for reporting that put people at the heart of their work through creativity, collaboration, and civic engagement. In so doing, they have brought new people into journalism, highlighted new voices, and told fuller and more truthful stories.

An additional $800,000 grant to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press from the Democracy Fund will help to protect the independence and freedom of journalists to ask hard questions and conduct courageous investigations.

Journalists play a critical role in holding the powerful accountable to our Constitution and the American people. A healthy democracy requires access to diverse and accurate sources of information for policymakers and the public so that they can make sound decisions in service of the common good. We hope that these new commitments will build upon the $18 million in grants that the Democracy Fund’s Public Square program has made over the past five years to support local news, community engagement, newsroom diversity, and combating misinformation.

These grants represent a significant financial commitment in support of excellent journalism, but they do not represent the end of our support. In the weeks and months to come, we hope to work with partners from all sectors to find other ways to do our part to ensure that journalists can play their rightful role in our democracy.

Details about the grants we announced today may be found below. (You can also learn about additional grants announced by First Look Media – home of The Intercept – here).

Stay tuned for further announcements as our team at the Democracy Fund continues to find ways to support the important work of ensuring that the American public come first in our democracy.

Democracy Fund and First Look Media Joint Grants Include:

  • The Center for Investigative Reporting, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to CIR as they pioneer new models of investigative reporting rooted in collaboration, community engagement, and creativity.
  • The Center for Public Integrity, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to CPI to expand its watchdog reporting and strengthen its ability to hold institutions accountable to the American people.
  • ProPublica, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to ProPublica, whose groundbreaking work combines hard-hitting investigations and cutting edge data journalism in service to communities.
  • The Investigative Reporting Workshop, $500,000 over two years – This grant provides general operating support to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University to deepen its model of accountability reporting, which combines students and professional journalists in collaboration with longstanding newsrooms.
  • New York University, $275,000 over one year – This grant will establish a laboratory for community-supported investigative reporting through a unique partnership between New York University and De Correspondent. The project will focus on developing sustainable business models for U.S. newsrooms rooted in new membership structures and draw on the lessons from a world leader in community-driven accountability journalism.

Additional Democracy Fund Grants Include:

  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, $800,000 over two years – This grant provides general operating support to the Reporters Committee to enhance its ability to provide legal resources and guidance for independent journalists and nonprofit news outlets, in addition to continuing its work with longtime partners in broadcast, print, and online news media.
  • State and Local Investigative Fund, $1 million initial investment – With this funding, Democracy Fund seeks to establish a new fund for state and local investigative journalism and invite other funders and donors to contribute and collaborate. The goal of the fund is to serve as a beacon for those who want to support local and state news, investigative beats, and nonprofit news.
  • Knight Prototype Fund on Misinformation, $200,000 over one year – Democracy Fund also contributed $200,000 to the Knight Prototype Fund’s $1 million open call for ideas on misinformation and trust in journalism, a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation; the open call is accepting applications until April 3.
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Press Release

Democracy Fund & First Look Media Announce $12M+ in New Grants to Support Free Press

Democracy Fund
/
March 25, 2017

Washington, D.C. – Today First Look Media and Democracy Fund announced more than $12 million in new grants to support an independent, robust free press. Three leading nonprofit news organizations – the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity, and ProPublica – will each receive $3 million at a moment when the role of journalism in our democracy is facing unprecedented challenges.

These three grants, which are a collaboration between First Look Media and Democracy Fund, will help ensure journalists have the resources they need to meet the reporting challenges of today’s political landscape. The two organizations are also granting $500,000 to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University to expand accountability reporting collaborations between university students and professional journalists, and $275,000 for an innovative collaboration between Professor Jay Rosen at New York University and De Correspondent to test new models of community support for investigative reporting.

“A healthy democracy cannot exist without a vibrant public square in which hard-hitting, independent media inform the public and hold power accountable,” said Democracy Fund President Joe Goldman. “Investigative journalists play a crucial role in our political system. We hope this support extends the reach and depth of a remarkable set of nonprofit newsrooms at a pivotal moment in American history.”

Democracy Fund and First Look Media share a strong commitment to and belief in the critical role of the First Amendment; both organizations were created by philanthropist Pierre Omidyar.

“At First Look Media, we speak truth to power and tell the stories that matter — across our fearless journalism, films, TV, and digital,” said Michael Bloom, President of First Look Media. “We are thrilled to make these grants to others in our field who are also doing such important work during these critical times.”

First Look Media and Democracy Fund also independently announced additional grants today.

Democracy Fund announced an $800,000 grant to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to help ensure investigative journalists have the legal support and First Amendment protections necessary to pursue their work. Building on its ongoing commitment to transforming local news, Democracy Fund also announced the forthcoming establishment of a new fund for local and state investigative reporting, with an initial investment of $1 million. Democracy Fund is inviting other funders to join them in building a new resource to support state and local reporting; more information will be made available in the coming months. Democracy Fund also contributed $200,000 to the Knight Prototype Fund on trust in journalism.

“National and local nonprofit newsrooms are playing an increasingly important role and building new models for reporting through creativity, collaboration, and civic engagement,” said Tom Glaisyer, Public Square Program Director, Democracy Fund. “In so doing, they bring new people into journalism, highlight new voices, and tell fuller and deeply relevant stories.”

Since 2011, Democracy Fund has invested more than $18 million in support of a more vibrant public square, which includes efforts on local journalism, fact-checking, and newsroom diversity.

First Look Media is providing a grant of $550,000 over two years to support The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. This grant will support investigative reporting on Wall Street and on environmental issues for The Intercept. The Investigative Fund, an award-winning newsroom for independent journalists, incubates investigative reporting projects with the potential for social impact and publishes this work in editorial partnership with a wide variety of print, broadcast, and digital outlets.

“Reporters are facing unprecedented challenges in the current political environment, which demands bold, intensively researched journalism that simply is not possible in most newsrooms without outside support,” said Betsy Reed, Editor-in-Chief of The Intercept.

Democracy Fund and First Look Media will announce all the grants tonight at the Toner Prize Celebration honoring the work of the late Robin Toner, the first woman to be chief political correspondent for The New York Times. The event benefits the Toner Program in Political Reporting at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.

Democracy Fund and First Look Media Joint Grants, Total $9,775,000

  • The Center for Investigative Reporting, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to CIR as they pioneer new models of investigative reporting rooted in collaboration, community engagement, and creativity.
  • The Center for Public Integrity, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to CPI to expand its watchdog reporting and strengthen its ability to hold institutions accountable to the American people.
  • ProPublica, $3 million over two years – This grant provides general operating support to ProPublica, whose groundbreaking work combines hard-hitting investigations and cutting edge data journalism in service to communities.
  • The Investigative Reporting Workshop, $500,000 over two years – This grant provides general operating support to the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University to deepen its model of accountability reporting, which fosters collaboration between students, professional journalists, and longstanding newsrooms.
  • New York University, $275,000 over one year – This grant will establish a laboratory for community-supported investigative reporting through a unique partnership between New York University and De Correspondent. The project will focus on developing sustainable business models for U.S. newsrooms rooted in new membership structures and draw on the lessons from a world leader in community-driven accountability journalism.

Democracy Fund Grants, Total $2 million

  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, $800,000 over two years – This grant provides general operating support to the Reporters Committee to enhance its ability to provide legal resources and guidance for independent journalists and nonprofit news outlets, in addition to continuing its work with longtime partners in broadcast, print, and online news media.
  • State and Local Investigative Fund, $1 million initial investment – With this funding, Democracy Fund seeks to establish a new fund for state and local investigative journalism and invites other funders and donors to contribute and collaborate. The goal of the fund is to serve as a beacon for those who want to support local and state news, investigative beats, and nonprofit newsrooms.
  • Knight Prototype Fund on Misinformation, $200,000 over one years – Democracy Fund also contributed $200,000 to the Knight Prototype Fund’s $1 million open call for ideas on misinformation and trust in journalism, a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation; the open call is accepting applications until April 3.

First Look Media Grant, Total $550,000 over two years

  • This grant supports a partnership between The Intercept & the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute for investigative reporting on Wall Street and on environmental issues.

 

 

About FIRST LOOK MEDIA:

A bold, independent spirit defines everything we do at First Look Media – from journalism that holds the powerful accountable, to art and entertainment that shape our culture. Launched by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar, First Look Media is built on the belief that freedom of expression and of the press, diverse voices, and fiercely independent perspectives, are vital to a healthy democracy and a vibrant culture.

About DEMOCRACY FUND:

The Democracy Fund is a bipartisan foundation established by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar to help ensure that our political system can withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. Since 2011, Democracy Fund has invested more than $50 million in support of effective governance, modern elections, and a vibrant public square.

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Announcing a New Fund to Fight Misinformation

Tom Glaisyer
/
March 12, 2017

Misinformation, hoaxes, and propaganda are nothing new, but the internet and new technology have made it easier than ever to create and share viral deceptions. The spread of fake information and false stories erodes trust in our democratic institutions and fans the flames of hyper-partisanship.

However, those same tools also give us new opportunities to combat and debunk bad information, and help deliver accurate and trustworthy journalism to more people than ever.

That is why today a coalition of foundations including Democracy Fund, Knight and Rita Allen Foundations are launching a joint fund to support creative ideas to address the question: how might we improve the flow of accurate information?

Democracy Fund is committed to supporting innovative people and ideas that help combat viral deception and reinvigorate trust in the press. We hope this prototype fund sparks creativity and collaboration to ensure our political system is able to deliver on its promise to the American people. We expect to award up to $1 million in grants with an average size of about $50,000. Each grant comes with a two-day training on building and evolving ideas through prototyping.

We understand that these are profoundly complex issues and that people negotiate trust, navigate information, and seek out context in very different ways. We don’t believe there is any one silver-bullet, but instead want to engage a diverse set of stakeholders around these problems. We welcome early stage projects from engineers and educators, librarians and lawyers, and reporters and researchers, and more. Good ideas can come from anywhere so we’ll be reaching out to communities and local newsrooms all across the country—in both rural and urban areas, through red states and blue states, on the coasts and from the middle of the country.

The deadline is April 3rd at 5pm ET. Click here to read a FAQ for more information or apply today.

In the press release today our partner foundations write: “The call is seeking diverse ideas on topics ranging from, but not limited to, the role of algorithms in news consumption, methods for separating facts from fiction, building bridges across ideological divides and strategies for ensuring journalism organizations are authentic to the communities they serve.”

Democracy Fund is particularly interested in ideas from diverse communities and local newsrooms around the country, where people are exploring how engagement, transparency, and context are helping sort fact from fiction. Those peddling in misinformation have used the Internet to their advantage, but everyday people show that the web can be a powerful tool for truth as well. It’s time to turn the tables.

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The State of Diversity in the Media: A Field Analysis

Taylor T. Harris
/
February 22, 2017

Diversity in the media is critical to a functioning democracy. In 1827, editors at the Freedom’s Journal, the first African American owned and operated newspaper in the U.S., declared in the paper’s founding mission statement,“We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us.” In short, one voice cannot speak for all.

However, annual surveys conducted by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Radio Television Digital News Foundation (RTDNF) show that news media professionals simply do not reflect the overall diversity of our country. The vast majority of our journalists are white men. Moreover, they increasingly reside in urban centers on the coasts of the country.

Diversity comes in many forms: racial, ethnic, gender, ideological, ability, geographic, and economic and the inclusion of other underrepresented communities to name a few. Fair coverage of all diverse communities ceases to exist if there is only one dominant voice telling the American story. Even well intentioned coverage can suffer from bias when we only tell a story through one lens.

Through the Local News & Participation systems map, Democracy Fund has described how “the decreasing diversity of sources, stories, and staff reduces the quantity, quality, and relevance of local journalism. This diminishes the engagement of the public in civic affairs and newsrooms. As the public becomes less engaged with the newsroom, it becomes more isolated, and diversity of sources, stories, and staff continues to dwindle.” For this reason, Democracy Fund is committed to working to support more diverse and inclusive journalism.

The Democracy Fund recently completed a field analysis of organizations working to support and expand diversity and inclusivity in media. The goal of this effort was to better map and understand the broader field and identify new ways to change the systems that shape our media. We’ve shared highlights from analysis and our process below.

What Do We Know?

The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) both keep track of diversity in the media through annual surveys. In their 2016 survey, ASNE received responses from 737 news publications (online and print) in the U.S. The results showed that minorities (defined by ASNE as black, Asian American, Hispanic, and Native American employees) consisted of 17 percent of the newsroom workforce.

The most recent RTDNA/Hofstra University survey on diversity in radio and television was published in July of 2016. The survey included responses from 1,286 television stations and 484 radio stations in the U.S., and found that minorities represent 23 percent of the workforce at TV stations. At radio stations, minorities comprise a mere nine percent of the radio workforce.

Women represent 44.2 percent of the TV news station workforce, according to the RTDNA study. While specific numbers were not given for radio overall, the survey noted that there were twice as many men as women in radio. Representation in newsroom leadership is a particular issue. Minorities make up only 5.6 percent of general managers at non-Hispanic TV stations, while women make up only of 18.9 percent of TV general managers.

Who is Working for Media Diversity?

So far, we have identified more than 50 organizations that have a strong commitment, mission, or purpose to expand diversity in the media and build newsrooms that reflect their communities. Many of these organizations are over 20 years old, and some date back further than that. While the circumstances of the industry have slowly improved, more work must be done.

In 1968, the Kerner Commission reported that the number of black journalists employed by the news media was “less than five percent.” Today, black journalists only constitute 4.68 percent of newsrooms, according to ASNE’s 2016 survey. To better serve communities, every news organization or publication providing information must make a commitment to diversity not only to reflect their audiences but to retain them.

To provide organization and structure to our analysis, we categorized the organizations working to improve diversity under the headers membership, research, advocacy, or training organizations – though many organizations provide several of these functions.

Membership organizations include those organizations that serve a specific and diverse group of journalists. Those organizations include groups such as: National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and Association of Women in Sports Media (AWSM). These organizations host annual conferences and regional convenings throughout the year that offer workshops, careers fairs, and seminars for their members.

Research organizations conduct both qualitative and quantitative research on diversity in the media. Organizations such as the Media Diversity Forum at Louisiana State University and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues are dedicated to researching issues about the practice of diversity in the media. As noted above, RTDNA and ASNE have annual diversity surveys that are used as a reference point for media.

Advocacy organizations advocate for various causes related to diversity in the media. Women’s Media Center and Women, Action, & the Media, known as WAM!, both advocate for the image of and prosperity of women in the news media. All Digitocracy and Journal-isms both produce content that discusses the journalism industry’s practices. The latest diverse hirings, firings, and news pertaining to ethnic media are available on these organizations’ sites.

Training organizations educate and further develop the skills of minority journalists, aiding in the creation of a pipeline for minority professionals into the news industry. Examples of these organizations include the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (MIJE), T. Howard Foundation, and Emma Bowen Foundation.

Collaboration is key amongst these field-building organizations and with news outlets. Working together helps these organizations accomplish their mission and strategic goals.

Moving Forward

These 50 organizations can provide many services to legacy and non-legacy news media. Utilizing these organizations to reevaluate outlets’ approaches to diversity, including their hiring processes, can protect integrity in journalism and our country’s democracy.

Because of organizations such as Writers of Color and Journalism Diversity Project, which maintain a database of diverse groups of journalists and their skill sets, media outlets can no longer claim they are unable to find “qualified minorities” as a valid excuse for their lack of diversity. Journalism can better engage and reflect the public if journalists, field building organizations, and news outlets continue to work in tandem.

By doing so, we are another step closer to ensuring diverse voices are not only being heard, seen, and read in the media, but are also creating the media content which contributes to our marketplace of ideas. The events of the 2016 election year has only reinforced this. It has become clear since the election that many across the country have felt ill-represented, spoken down to and misunderstood by fly-in journalists. In many ways middle america’s experience in 2016 and response has deep parallels with the experience of minority communities over decades.

Surmounting the barriers of accessibility for the widest range of diverse and minority talent in order to better reflect the composition of the American population will be an arduous, continuous effort that should evolve in tandem with the nation’s changing demographics. Yet, such an effort is paramount if the media is to adequately serve and inform the public square.

***

Taylor T. Harris is an intern with the Public Square Program at Democracy Fund. Taylor joined the Democracy Fund in September 2016 following her completion of her undergraduate degree. She graduated magna cum laude receiving her B.A. in Print/Online Journalism from Howard University. While completing her undergraduate degree Taylor was active in various media and community service organizations on campus including acting as Editor-in-Chief of her college’s newspaper, The Hilltop. Taylor has worked at organizations such as The Dallas Morning News and The Washington Post, and freelanced for organizations such as American Press Institute and USA Today. She also received fellowships from ProPublica, Online News Association, National Association of Black Journalists, and Investigative Editors and Reporters.

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Press Release

NewsMatch Raises $4.8 Million for Nonprofit News

Democracy Fund
/
February 14, 2017

Record-breaking year for individual giving to nonprofit newsrooms in 2017​

Washington, D.C. — NewsMatch 2017 raised more than $4.8 million from individual donors and a coalition of foundations to support more than 100 local and investigative nonprofit news organizations. This makes NewsMatch 2017 the largest-ever grassroots fundraising campaign to support local nonprofit and investigative news, during a record-breaking year overall for charitable giving to journalism.

Data from NewsMatch also reveals the growing strength of news nonprofits’ year-end fundraising campaigns, a critical indicator of financial success. More people than ever before stepped up to donate to nonprofit journalism, investing in trustworthy local news from coast to coast.

Year-End Giving by the Numbers:
Year-end giving numbers include all gifts from individual donors to NewsMatch participating organizations, not just those eligible for matching funds.

  • In total, more than 202,000 individual donors contributed $33 million to nonprofit news in October, November and December
  • The average year-end donor gave $163
  • 43,000 donors gave to a nonprofit news organization for the first time in Q4 2017
  • 25 local and national foundations and donors offered year-end matching grants

“With the support of NewsMatch we had a record setting year, more than doubling the donations we received in past years,” said Lauren Fuhrmann of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. “NewsMatch provided the roadmap, tech support and national exposure that we needed to have our most successful year-end fundraising drive ever.”

The NewsMatch campaign equipped nonprofit newsrooms with professional fundraising tools, technology and training to cultivate new donors through the Institute for Nonprofit News and the News Revenue Hub. Additionally, a national marketing campaign educated the public on the importance of nonprofit journalism becoming a core part of charitable year-end giving. NewsMatch’s impact will be felt throughout the year by communities who rely on these newly resilient, critical news organizations.

“A robust, independent press is essential to fostering an informed and engaged public and vital for a healthy democracy,” said Josh Stearns of Democracy Fund. “By working collaboratively with newsrooms and philanthropic partners, NewsMatch was an innovative local-to-national campaign that brought thousands of new donors into supporting local and investigative journalism.”

“The growth of NewsMatch is a testament to the critical role of local news and investigative journalism in our country right now,” said Jennifer Preston, vice president for journalism at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Knight launched the first NewsMatch in 2016, helping 57 nonprofit news organizations raise more than $1.2 million in match donations.

NewsMatch 2017 involved more than 25 funders around the country. It was established as a partnership between the Democracy Fund, Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and managed by The Miami Foundation. Over the course of the fall, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, the News Integrity Initiative, the Wyncote Foundation, The Gates Family Foundation, and the Rita Allen Foundation all joined NewsMatch as partners creating double and triple matches for some organizations. Finally, local newsrooms worked with donors and local funders to set up parallel matching campaigns in their communities.

NewsMatch elevated nonprofit news through #GivingNewsDay which saw journalists, celebrities and politicians on both sides of the aisle talking about the importance of donating to nonprofit news. Mark Ruffalo, Michael Kelly, Cara Mund (Miss America), Greta Van Susteren and others joined the effort. Facebook donated $100,000 in free advertising to publicize NewsMatch and drive donors to local and investigative newsrooms.

“One of the most important things we can do is increase awareness about the need for and benefits of nonprofit journalism. That is, to add to the usual American philanthropic checklist of schools, hospitals, churches and cultural institutions the possibility of donating to journalism. NewsMatch helped enormously in that effort,” said Richard Tofel, president of Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit news organization ProPublica.

“We are so grateful to NewsMatch for its support of local media. NewsMatch.org provided a very rich donor experience and it was a great way for us to start our end-of-year fundraising campaign,” said Phayvanh Luekhamhan of VTDigger. “Thanks to NewsMatch we were able to raise over $350,000 from October through December. This means that in the coming year we can continue to grow our revenue streams, hire reporters and publish the kind of in-depth and daily reporting that Vermonters need.”

All news organizations participating in NewsMatch are members in good standing of the Institute for Nonprofit News. Visit newsmatch.org for more information.

# # #

About the Institute for Nonprofit News:
The Institute for Nonprofit News is an incubator and support network for nonprofit newsrooms, strengthening the sources of independent, public service information and investigative journalism for thousands of communities across the U.S. INN is the only organization in the U.S. specifically focused on supporting the emerging nonprofit news sector. For more, visit INN.org.

About Democracy Fund:
The Democracy Fund is a bipartisan foundation established by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar to help ensure that our political system can withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people. Since 2011, Democracy Fund has invested more than $60 million in support of effective governance, modern elections, and a vibrant public square. For more, visit democracyfund.org.

About the News Revenue Hub:
The News Revenue Hub helps news organizations build the trust and financial support of their audiences by providing customized technology tools and proven strategies to create and sustain successful digital membership programs. For more, visit fundjournalism.org.

About the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation:
Founded by Edith Kinney Gaylord, Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation’s mission is to invest in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information. For more, visit journalismfoundation.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation:
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

About the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation:
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including over-incarceration, global climate change, nuclear risk, and significantly increasing financial capital for the social sector. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsible and responsive democracy, as well as the strength and vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago. More information is available at macfound.org.

About The Miami Foundation:
Since 1967, The Miami Foundation has used civic leadership, community investment and philanthropy to improve the quality of life for everyone who calls Greater Miami home. We partner with individuals, families and corporations who have created more than 1,000 personalized, philanthropic Funds. Thanks to them, we have awarded over $250 million in grants and currently manage more than $300 million in assets to build a better Miami. As the Foundation marks our 50th anniversary, we are celebrating great Miamians who have championed what matters to them, encouraging all residents to share their Miami stories and unite around the causes they care about. For more, visit miamifoundation.org.

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Introducing the new Local News Lab

Tom Glaisyer
/
February 10, 2017

We don’t know what the future of media and journalism holds, but we do know that no matter what technological, economic, or cultural shifts occur, a vibrant and resilient press is central to a healthy democracy. This is a priority of our work at the Democracy Fund. As we pursue efforts to strengthen local news and participation we want to share what we learn, provide an opportunity to highlight the work of our grantees, and engage with the community of people working on these issues.

In that spirit, today we are re-launching the Local News Lab as a testing ground for the future of journalism. The site will be managed by our Public Square Program as a resource for those working at the intersection of media and democracy. It will be a site of inquiry, experimentation, and learning where the Democracy Fund and its grantees and partners will explore new models, tools, and practices for creating a robust and diverse public square. Through the Local News Lab we will share what we learn, invite your input, and shine a spotlight on the people helping make journalism more sustainable, collaborative and engaged with its community.

The Local News Lab was originally developed by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation through a grant from the Knight Foundation. The Democracy Fund was also an early supporter of the Dodge Foundation’s work. We look forward to building on their pioneering work developing an ecosystem approach to transforming the landscape of local news in New Jersey and continuing to work with them as partners on this site.

As an introduction to the work of the Local News Lab, check out these featured posts and research:

  1. Read the latest from the Lab: dive into a topic of your choice from community engagement to business models to philanthropy.
  2. Let the Lab guide you: our new detailed guides offer advice on how to help newsrooms develop new revenue models.
  3. Learn from the Lab: don’t miss this report on lessons learned in the first 18 months of experiments undertaken by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

You can still expect to find information about the Democracy Fund’s grantmaking around journalism, civic information, and participation here on our main website. The Local News Lab will focus, not on how to get a grant from Democracy Fund, but rather on what our grantees and partners are doing and learning in the world. As a systems change organization we are committed to learning, iterating, and partnering in ways that strengthen both our work and the field at large.

We understand that the challenges we face will take patience, and persistent and deep partnership. We see this as a chance to invite people into our work and be transparent about what we are trying and how it is working. Want to talk to us more about the Lab? Email us at localnewslab@democracyfund.org.

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Blog

In 2017, Journalists Have to Partner, Not Parachute

Josh Stearns
/
January 18, 2017

It might be tempting for national newsrooms, most of which are headquartered on the coasts, to boost their travel budget in the wake of the 2016 elections. A common refrain in the media post-mortems that followed the elections was that national journalists and political reporters need to spend more time in small, rural communities the middle of the country. It’s true, we do need a wider diversity of stories and perspectives in media, but parachuting into “flyover country” isn’t going to solve anything.

In 2017, editors who are committed to telling more diverse stories about American communities across should partner with talented journalists on the ground who know the history, culture and context of the places they work. National newsrooms should approach these partnerships with humility and a spirit of reciprocity. Both national and local journalists have a lot to bring to the table — see for example ProPublica’s work on interactive satellite reporting paired with the boots-on-the-ground journalism of the New Orleans Lens. Plus, at a time of limited and dwindling resources, collaboration can help outlets strengthen both the stories they tell and the newsrooms that tell them.

Heather Bryant, a Knight Fellow at Stanford University, wrote about this in the wake of the election. Rather than flying in national staff or setting up new newsrooms locally, she argues, “journalism as a whole would be better served by supporting and improving the newsrooms that might already be in these places.” The results of Bryant’s fellowship research will be a valuable contribution, surfacing new models and best practices for local/national reporting. Follow her work on Medium here.

There are already some great models*:

  • Last year the Center for Investigative Reporting also launched Reveal Labs which they describe as “a series of partnerships across the country to form networks that help newsrooms find and tell tough stories, connect them to those most affected and bring them to a national audience through Reveal.” In 2015 Nieman Lab reported on how Reveal was embedding reporters in local newsrooms to expand investigative capacity and bring local narratives to a national audience.
  • The Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Regional and Local Journalism Centers are bringing newsrooms together across state lines to report on shared issues across different regions. The centers are designed to both serve local people better and to “feed national public media news programs.”

Strengthening local newsrooms is not just about creating a runway for stories to bubble up to the national level or creating a training ground for journalists who aspire to the New York Times and the Washington Post. Creating healthier local news ecosystems that better serve local communities is critical to people living in those communities, and to democracy itself.

In a prescient post from March of 2016 Josh Benton of the Nieman Lab pointed out how digital journalism has become concentrated “more firmly than ever in New York and a few other major cities.” There is no beat where that is more true than in political and campaign reporting. And that, Benton notes, has had “real impacts on the kind of news we get.”

“America is a big, highly distributed place. Our democracy is structured around cities and counties and congressional districts and states,” writes Benton. “Our media used to be too.”

After the election Benton reminded us that many communities have faced a dramatic erosion in community institutions. “The factories shut down; the church pews were emptier than they used to be; the braided fabric of their towns had unraveled,” writes Benton. And for many “the local newspaper was one of those key institutions — the daily or weekly package of stories that connected you to your neighbors.”

This isn’t to say that we should go back to the “good old days” of journalism. Instead, it is an argument that we should work together to create brighter days down the road. We are better equipped to do that by working together than we are on our own.

In the most recent Nieman Reports, Nicco Mele calls for the rethinking of newsrooms as “civic reactors.” He calls on us to imagine a role for newsrooms that can begin to build new kinds of institutions to replace some of what Benton notes has been lost. He writes: “A possible future for journalism is more in the mold of grassroots organizing, where the newsroom becomes a sort of 21st century VFW hall, the hub of local activity.”

For national outlets, supporting community-driven news is an opportunity to reinvigorate the profession from the ground up and build new pathways for audience recruitment in the process. Rather than parachuting in, they can subsidize springboards for new talent and practice, and invite local newsrooms and communities to enrich national stories in the process.

This piece was originally published by MediaShift. Josh Stearns is the Associate Director of the Public Square Program at the Democracy Fund. Follow him on Twitter and sign up for the weekly Local Fix newsletter on innovation, community engagement and local news.

 

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Statement

Facebook’s New Fact-Checking Partnership Is An Important Step Toward Fighting “Fake News”

Democracy Fund
/
December 15, 2016

WASHINGTON D.C. – In recent weeks, concerns about the rise and role of bogus information in public debate elevated the role of social media platforms as information intermediaries. In response to Facebook’s announcement of a new fact-checking partnership, Tom Glaisyer, Director of the Public Square Program at Democracy Fund, which has committed more than $3.5 million in fact-checking, released the following statement:

“Facebook’s new fact-checking partnership represents an important step toward addressing the risks posed by bogus information, or ‘fake news.’ It would be difficult to understate the critical role social platforms play in the media ecosystem today, and ensuring that media institutions are able to engage and inform the public is critical to the strength of our democracy.

“Citizens’ lack of trust in media and journalism is at the core of the current debate about bogus information, and we applaud Facebook’s commitment to build and experiment with new tools and functionality that give users independent, non-partisan information about the accuracy of articles and posts. In partnering with experienced and respected fact-checkers who are members of the International Fact-Checking Network – like the Associated Press, PolitiFact, Factcheck.org, SNOPES, and ABC News – Facebook is working with journalists already on the forefront of regaining the public’s trust in media.

“Democracy Fund is a long-time investor in innovations around fact-checking, and we look forward to seeing how Facebook’s new tool, and others like it, can actively support informed civic engagement.”

Democracy Fund is committed to fighting deception and disinformation that prevents voters from making informed decisions at the ballot box. Our investments in fact-checking have included PolitiFact and research into the efficacy of fact-checking carried out by The American Press Institute.

 

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Blog

Starting With Community: From Civic Journalism to Community Engagement

Paul Waters
/
November 7, 2016

This week in Chicago journalists from around the country will gather for the People-Powered Publishing Conference. The conference brings together innovators and pioneers who are connecting newsrooms and communities in new ways.

The Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program will be on hand at the event and is releasing a new paper, “How to Best Serve Communities: Reflections on Civic Journalism,” on the history of how newsrooms have partnered with their communities — from civic journalism to today’s engaged journalism.

This past August, our senior fellow Geneva Overholser wrote a blog post on the connections between civic journalism and engaged journalism. Geneva has expanded on this topic with a fuller reflection on the civic journalism movement in the ‘90s. In the paper she describes what civic journalism hoped to do and the lasting impact of ideas around engagement. We found this work to be very useful as we are in the beginning stages of developing a strategy to support engaged journalism.

In Geneva’s concluding thoughts she reflects that:

“Today’s engaged journalism, civic journalism’s replacement in this digital age, enjoys an utterly different environment from the one that confronted civic journalists — one in which disruption prevails, change is the new constant, and innovation is seen, almost universally, as essential. The contemporary movement is landing on far more fertile terrain.”

Engaged journalism repositions news and information as a service rooted in deep dialogue with the public rather than a product for them to consume. This kind of journalism understands that outlets can create better stories, stronger newsrooms, and more healthy communities by bringing people into the journalism process. Engagement generates feedback loops between audiences and outlets to improve relationships, representation, responsiveness, trust, and impact.

The Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program supports the practice of engaged journalism through research, relationships, convenings, and grants. Throughout this process, we will collect, share, and update learnings with the broader field to support a network of practitioners across the country. While this is a national trend, we’re especially interested to understand how it works on the local level.

Our belief is that this reorientation of local journalism towards engaged journalism is critical to fostering a thriving journalism landscape and a more engaged democracy. The people attending this week’s People-Powered Publishing Conference are on the front lines of this work and we look forward to learning from and with them. We hope that Geneva’s paper on civic journalism can provide the historical insight and direction to move forward in the context of financial collapse and technological disruption of traditional print and broadcast news.

Democracy Fund is a foundation working to build an inclusive, multiracial democracy that is open, just, resilient, and trustworthy.

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