Although not all foundations or news organizations in the United States were surveyed, the data enhance our understanding of the world of nonprofit journalism in general and the landscape of newer nonprofit media in particular. This community shares many goals, experiences and problems with a variety of perspectives. Nonprofit news organizations A total of 94 […]

The foundations and nonprofit media organizations surveyed are almost equally divided on the overall motive behind the financial support for media. Less than half of funders (43 percent) and nonprofits (40 percent) both say nonprofit media funding is “journalism driven,” indicating that media is funded in order to “strengthen a free press and to educate […]

This essay is part of “Charting new ground: The ethical terrain of nonprofit journalism,” API research exploring the philanthropic funding of journalism. Read the other essays. In 2009, graduate journalism student Linsay Rousseau Burnett spent her summer interviewing migrant workers in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. She returned to UC Berkeley with disturbing news: […]

Another issue in the nonprofit news landscape is about metrics, or proof that work being underwritten is reaching an audience or perhaps having even more of an impact — such as changing public attitudes on an issue. The question of metrics is hardly new. Commercial news organizations for years have used some numbers to establish […]

This essay is part of “Charting new ground: The ethical terrain of nonprofit journalism,” API research exploring the philanthropic funding of journalism. Read the other essays. About a month into my new job managing media grants for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a local newspaper headline read like a warning shot across my cubicle: […]

The study also looked at whether the work of news organizations intersected with their partners or funders beyond the collaboration. What happens, for instance, when a partner or a funder becomes the subject of a news story? Do the media organizations who have done stories on partners and funders note their relationship? The answer, the […]

One issue that has emerged in recent years regarding transparency is so-called donor-advised funds — financial vehicles that manage charitable donations made by individuals, families or organizations and under law do not have to disclose the identify of those contributors. The funds have become controversial because they can be a way for people or foundations […]

Transparency is considered a core element of journalism and an important feature of foundations. And while the most foundations and newsrooms report in this survey that they practice a high degree of transparency in their dealings with each other, few have concrete rules or written regulations regarding disclosure. When it comes to disclosure, the commercial […]

One of the most striking findings from the research is there aren’t clear or universal rules of the road here — and very few written rules or guidelines on either side that could clarify roles and establish editorial firewalls. When it comes how to communicate with funders, for instance, 43 percent of nonprofit media outlets […]

What kind of communication do nonprofit news organizations and funders have about the news content that those funders underwrite? The answer varies depending on whether you ask grantors or grantees. In general, media organizations are less inclined to believe funders have input than funders are. For instance, when you ask nonprofit media outlets, just 6 […]