OFF THE TOP

You might have heard: Report for America’s sustainability report offers hope as communities pitch in to save local news (Report for America)

But did you know: Community foundations have made $1.1 billion in media grants since 2009 (Media Impact Funders) 

A new study from Media Impact Funders has found that, of the $19.6 billion in media grants made by foundations since 2009, $1.1 billion came from community foundations. That money was spread across more than 43,000 grants to 8,000 recipients by 461 funders. Most of that money, $727.7 million, went to media content and platforms, a wide-ranging group encompassing online media, television, radio, films and print. Grants of $159.2 million were given for media access and policy, which included media literacy, education centers and First Amendment work, while $124 million was dedicated to “journalism, news and information” such as investigative journalism, citizen journalism and advocacy journalism. 

+ Related: How COVID-19 reshaped grantmaking and what news organizations should know (American Press Institute)

+ Noted: Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts is hosting a “One-Day Law School for Journalists” on July 15 (Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts); Three House representatives introduce companion to Senate bill to establish a federal statutory privilege to protect journalists (Representative Jamie Raskin); North Carolina judge jails editor over reporter’s use of recorder in court (Associated Press) 

API UPDATE

Webinar: What newsrooms need to know about Google Analytics 4 

Did you know the existing version of Google Analytics is going away? API’s Metrics for News team is hosting a free informational session on Thursday, July 15 at 1 p.m. ET on what news outlets need to do to prepare for the next generation of Google Analytics. Google Analytics Universal data will not migrate to GA4, so the session will cover how to set up a new property (and why that’s important), as well as key changes in the new version. We’ll also give a live demo of the new reporting features in GA4. Register here.

+ API is looking to help local news outlets do more audience-centered government reporting. Send us a rough project idea for this beat by July 12, and you’ll get personalized feedback on it, as well as the chance to learn from audience engagement experts in a group workshop on July 14.

TRY THIS AT HOME

How the Dallas Free Press connected with disinvested local news audiences (The Center for Media Engagement) 

The Center for Media Engagement teamed up with the nonprofit Dallas Free Press to see how residents of West Dallas, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, and South Dallas, a mostly Black neighborhood, felt about media coverage of their communities. Many had concerns about the media’s portrayal of their neighborhoods, which they felt were too negative and often sensationalized. Some of the participants also suggested, for example, that news outlets not specify the race of a Black suspect if they would not specify race for a white suspect. They also urged journalists to quote people who live in the community, not just those who volunteer there and live elsewhere.

OFFSHORE

Latin American journalists use collaboration and technology to unmask corruption and regain readers’ trust (LatAm Journalism Review) 

When journalists from Latin America gathered virtually in June for the First Latin American Journalism Meeting to Investigate Corruption, they spoke over and over again about the need for collaboration and leaving behind the idea of the journalist as a “lone wolf.” Reporting as part of a network can lead to a greater impact for stories, while reducing risks — physical, legal, personal and even digital — for the individual reporters or outlets. Investigative stories increasingly have a global component, making cross-border collaboration necessary to tell the full story. And collaboration isn’t just for journalists; in Peru, journalists worked directly with judicial institutions on a massive money-laundering investigation.  

OFFBEAT

Trump files class action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘censorship’ of conservatives (The Washington Post) 

Former President Trump has filed lawsuits against Facebook, Google and Twitter, claiming that the social media companies violated his First Amendment rights when they suspended his accounts following the riots on January 6. The lawsuits claim that Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube should be considered state actors, rather than private companies. The suits also call for the repeal of Section 230, the law that protects tech companies from liability over content and content moderation. Legal experts say that the suits are unlikely to succeed, and fall into a larger Trump pattern of bringing lawsuits to seek attention without seriously pursuing them in court. 

UP FOR DEBATE

Philadelphia deserves anti-racist media (The Philadelphia Inquirer) 

One year after the death of George Floyd, Malav Kanuga argues that newsrooms need to do more than build diversity and inclusion initiatives, and also actively invest in an anti-racist media system. This means avoiding narratives that reinforce negative stereotypes or “shirking the responsibility to answer calls for redress and reparations to historical and ongoing harms.” Kanuga also calls for journalists to be more cautious in their writing by using human-first language and trauma-informed reporting that acknowledges past harms to a community. 

SHAREABLE

Nonprofit investigative outlets serve news needs in Midwest (Medill Local News Initiative) 

With local newspapers shrinking and disappearing in many parts of the country, nonprofit investigative outlets are seeking to fill the void. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, for instance, has focused on food reporting since its founding in 2012. When the pandemic hit, the organization focused on the impact of the virus on workers in meatpacking plants — a story that may otherwise have gone unreported. Similarly, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism decided to follow up on the city of Milwaukee’s decision to impose a curfew — and ticket violators — in the wake of the death of George Floyd. The outlet’s investigation found that more than two-thirds of those ticketed were Black, and that many received tickets based on social media posts, raising First Amendment concerns.