Category Archives: Analysis

The year Wendi C. Thomas founded MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, she cried “not infrequently.” She had multiple moments of doubt mounting in her head. She’d wake up in a panic in the middle of the night, her stomach in knots, remembering how much credit card debt she had to take on to keep herself afloat. Continue reading “Wendi Thomas and Amethyst Davis on the patriarchy of philanthropy”

How does the intervention of philanthropic funding impact the health and sustainability of BIPOC-founded news organizations? And what do we even mean when we use the term “sustainability?“ Those questions were at the core of my keynote speech last week alongside Dr. Meredith Clark, founding director of the Center for Communication, Media Innovation and Social ChangeContinue reading “Ethnic Media is Local News”

One of the best parts about running the Pivot Fund is the successes we see in the BIPOC-led organizations we support. Pasa La Voz in Savannah, GA, is no exception.  Pasa La Voz’s story is incredible. Elizabeth Galarza, its founder, has no formal training in journalism but recognized the gap traditional media in the region left whenContinue reading “Why Journalism in Spanish Matters”

It has been six months since The Pivot Fund announced its inaugural cohort of grantee newsrooms. We’re already seeing significant impacts within our partner organizations and the communities they serve. In a nation dotted with news deserts and plagued by disinformation, the lessons we’re learning from these investments are critically important in tackling the crisisContinue reading “What a difference six months can make”

Last month, at the J-Funders 2022 gathering in Philadelphia, I reminded fellow journalism funders that we can’t achieve equity in news media without taking one important step: giving up power. The event brought together funders who all named important challenges facing our industry like financial sustainability, strengthening democracy and civic engagement. But to tackle these issues –Continue reading “Trust-Based Philanthropy: A Challenge to Give Up Power”

For the first time since 1967, U.S. lawmakers are poised to inject federal dollars into a lagging media ecosystem under the guise of saving local news. There are several pieces of legislation being bandied about in Washington, D.C., but the one getting the most attention at the moment — and perhaps the best chance of passage — is The LocalContinue reading “Could Congress Save BIPOC News Media?”