How Philanthropy Affects the Shape of Nonprofit Journalism

It will not come as news to NPQ readers that foundations play a growing role in the funding of nonprofit journalism. And, as Matthew Ingram writes in the Columbia Journalism Review, “with more media outlets turning to alternative sources of financing as advertising revenue dries up, the issue is likely to get even more acute in the future.” In the US between 2010 and 2015, philanthropic funding of journalism (including not just news operations, but also journalism schools and museums) averaged $300 million a year. Internationally, according to a new report from Martin Scott of the University of East Anglia, Mel Bunce from City University of London, and Kate Wright at the University of Edinburgh, “between 2011 and 2015, foundations awarded grants worth more than $1.3 billion annually to media and journalism around the world.” At NPQ, we’ve noted that while philanthropy has helped build nonprofit journalism infrastructure and provide space for nonprofits to develop their business models, there has also been a tendency to pursue “shiny things” and often favor large national outfits over local ones.