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December 19, 2014
MEDIA IMPACT EVENTS
MEDIA IMPACT NEWS
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
MEMBERSHIP
LINKS
MEDIA IMPACT EVENTS



As we reflect on the past year we have much to be grateful for -- particularly our members and supporters who enable us to do the work we do. As a network organization dedicated to advancing funders' understanding and use of media for social change, there have been some very bright spots in 2014. Take a look back at our recent events and explore what we learned.

 

We want to say a special thank you to our fantastic board members who contribute enormously to our organization. In particular, we bid a very fond farewell to several board members. Thank you Martin Collier, Karen Helmerson, Lori McGlinchey and Cara Mertes. And a big welcome to our newest board member Amy Yenkin.  

 

One thing that has stood out in the past year is the need for media to tell stories that challenge our nation's deepest injustices. MIF has been working to highlight how funder-supported media is making serious change in public opinion and policy. 

  

This November
we convened a funder discussion on race, justice and media at The Atlantic Philanthropies. We learned about the power of documentaries like The House I Live In and The Central Park Five in revealing systemic racism in our justice system; journalism's contribution to ending Stop and Frisk in NYC; and what's worked -- and hasn't worked -- in using media for social advocacy campaigns.
 
Read our special report from the day, with five lessons for funders. Also, be sure to read Vince Stehle's opinion piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy urging funders to maintain focus -- and funding -- on criminal justice issues. 

  

Here's a Storify from the day. The agenda is posted on our website as well.  
 

  


  

MEDIA IMPACT NEWS




Highlights From Our AIM Bulletin  

  



  • The New Jim Crow: The role of books in leveraging change One strong takeaway from our November event was the central role that Michelle Alexander's bestselling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness has played in framing the debate and inspiring related media and public education projects. In our AIM Analysis section the New Press' Executive Director Diane Wachtell shares insights on how the book has raised awareness, spurred activism and informed policy change -- and what that tells funders about the power of supporting public interest authors.
  • Can your movie change the world?  MovieMaker has a great guide for social issue movie makers. Check out the article, which mentions both MIF and our Research Director  Jessica Clark.
  • Seeking further inspiration? See the newly announced winners of the BRITDOC Impact Award, plus perspectives on how docs make change, and BRITDOC's newly updated  Impact Field Guide & Toolkit.
     
  • Be sure to explore our new section -- Tools -- filled with insights on breaking methods and platforms for evaluating your media investments.   

 

Questions, or suggestions for coverage? Contact 

 

 

 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD


Decoding the Net Neutrality Debate -- New Report by the Knight Foundation 

 

  

Last month, President Obama made a very strong push for open Internet rules. This month the Knight Foundation released an interactive report that offers analysis on media, public comments and advocacy around the open Internet debate. Check it out here. 

 

MIF has also curated a running list of the latest big announcements and opinions surrounding the net neutrality fight.  

 

 

 

 

New Executive Director at Current 
The American University School of Communication has hired public media journalist, producer and critic
Julie Drizin for the new position of Executive Director of Current, as the newspaper and website seeks to expand its coverage and impact in U.S. public and nonprofit media. Read the full announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

Building the Voice of Civil Rights 2.0

 

                

ZeroDivide's work with
the Pioneers in Justice (an initiative of the Levi Strauss Foundation) supports next-generation leaders of social justice organizations to enable peer learning and equip them with new tools, strategies and ways of working to create change. One partner organization, Youth Radio, works with young people to develop a deep set of life skills through journalism and digital media to build social and cultural capital in their communities in the San Francisco Bay area.
Read full post here.


 

 

 

VICE Media and Knight Foundation Launch Journalism Innovation Fund

To help propel innovation and experimentation in journalism, VICE Media and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced a new initiative in collaboration with City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism. Knight and VICE will invest $500,000 in the Knight-VICE Innovators Fund at CUNY to train journalists to adopt new ways of storytelling for the next generation of news consumers.
Read the announcement.

 

 

 

   

New Tool - Hatch 



Stories with purpose don't just materialize -- they're strategically planned, creatively crafted, and designed to achieve measurable outcomes.
Hatch, an interactive tool supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, connects
users to a suite of tools and a growing community to help leverage storytelling that drives social impact. 
 

   


Philanthropy and the Social Economy: Blueprint 2015


Blueprint 2015
 is an annual industry forecast written by leading philanthropy scholar Lucy Bernholz about the social economy -- private capital used for public good.
Blueprint 2015 provides an overview of the current landscape, and points to major trends and possible  breakthroughs in the coming year. Read the report.


 


Become an E-Grants Reporter
The Electronic Reporting Program at the Foundation Center benefits the field by providing much faster reporting and more nuanced tagging, which helps show the real focus and intention of grant making. It feeds data directly into our data map, and provides more accurate information for the whole field of media funding.

Becoming an eGrant Reporter is as straightforward as emailing a complete list of your grants for fiscal years 2012-2014 in an Excel file to

[email protected]. Questions can be sent to that email as well.

 

 


Connect with Media Impact Funders

Follow us on Twitter   Like us on Facebook
 
Media Impact Funders is a membership organization serving the funding community. Membership is a powerful tool that enables you to stay connected, facilitating more strategic funding through networking and resource-sharing.

Media Impact Funders offers several levels of membership, based on your organization's giving budget.
 


LINKS 

Benton Foundation's Communications-Related Headlines is a free, daily news summary service on the latest communications news. You can view today's headlines on the Web to see a sample of the newsletter. Headlines are available both via e-mail and RSS.

  

Sign up for the Public Media Scan from AIR for a quick, weekly hit of projects at the intersection of technology, journalism, and blended media craft.

Subscribe to The Local Fix for the latest developments in community news innovation, curated by Josh Stearns, Director of Journalism and Sustainability at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation  

 

Common Cause Media Reform Listserv provides timely information on issues relating to media and democracy. See www.commoncause.org for more information.

  

Free Press publishes Media Reform Daily, a collection of news stories related to media policy.  

  

Media Reform Calendar from Free Press.