Beyond grants: 4 ways Knight provides value to journalism
We also have networks, convening power and research that help newsrooms
When you work in philanthropy, it’s clear most potential grantees see the ultimate prize as the cash that comes with a grant. And I think most funders understand that. But grants are not the only value Knight provides to the local news industry. In my view, there are five ways we support journalism, four of which are available to those who are not Knight grantees.
To be clear, when I talk about our work beyond grants, I am referring to values we can directly provide to the journalism field. I am not including things like training or legal support, which we support via grants but don’t provide ourselves.
Here’s what I see as Knight’s four pillars of non-monetary support for journalism:
Our Network of Funders: As part of our work, we talk to pretty much everyone who funds journalism. But even the funders in that narrow space have different areas of focus. Some, like Knight, focus heavily on sustainability. Others focus on funding training or equity or legal services or topic-based reporting positions or something altogether different. So whatever your focus, there’s almost surely a funder out there worth talking to. And we are likely to know who that someone is. So, even if Knight is not likely to fund your project because it falls outside our strategy, we may well have ideas about who you should approach. Our deep funding connections will become even more important as a significant fund for local news comes together in the coming months.
Our Network of Grantees: Knight has an active grantee portfolio of more than 200 organizations, and that group spans the journalism ecosystem. We fund publishers, technology solutions, business innovations, industry organizations, Knight Chairs, dozens of endowments and much more. Collectively, our grantees know more about operating a local journalism business––and have the bruises to prove it––than just about any group I can fathom. So if you want to tap into that immense knowledge base to help inform what you’re doing or to test a hypothesis, we can help make those connections.
Our Convening Power: Because we talk to so many people operating inside the local media world, we’re in a unique position to identify thorny problems and gather stakeholders to try to solve them. In 2022, Knight gathered publishers and journalism service providers in Miami to map out the infrastructure of local journalism to identify collaboration and funding opportunities. Just last week, we convened more than 20 providers of legal services for newsrooms to, among other things, find ways to better communicate the range of services available to publishers. And, each year, Knight Chairs and Carnegie Knight Deans meet to share what they’re working on. Yes, I know it sounds old-school, but it turns out getting people together in a room for a few days still works, and organizing these convenings is something we will continue to do.
Our Research: Knight’s Learning and Impact team commissions research and partners with other firms to generate learnings about local journalism and conducts assessments to track the impact of Knight’s journalism grants. The most recent research examples are two terrific American Views reports produced jointly by Knight and Gallup. The first showed how many consumers think news organizations prioritize their own business needs over serving the public interest; the second analyzed the public’s declining overall trust in news. You can find more of our research and assessment efforts here.
These areas of support are important because, while everyone knows Knight is a funder, many don’t see us as a connector or a researcher. When we think we can help the local news ecosystem––and strengthen the communities it serves––by bringing people together, making connections or sharing what we’ve learned along the way, we want to do that. So don’t be strangers.
The role of veterans in America’s newsrooms
Knight proudly supported last week’s inaugural War Horse Symposium in Chicago. This day-long event––organized by The War Horse, which covers the human impact of military service––highlighted the importance of military reporting to our democracy and national security. Featured speakers included Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), journalist Bob Woodward, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough and political consultant David Axelrod. The event concluded with a spirited discussion between Jon Stewart and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Video of the full symposium can be found here. You can also read more about our commitment to increasing the number of veterans in newsrooms from Karen Rundlet, Knight’s senior director of journalism.
Other news around the horn…
Impact
🔥 NewsMatch helps nonprofit newsrooms raise $49 million. This matching funds thing is really catching on! NewsMatch had a banner year in 2022, with 303 nonprofit newsrooms raising more than $38 million from individual donations, which was matched with $4.6 million from national, regional and issue-based funders, and a record $5.5 million from local funders. In fact, this is the first year that local funders surpassed money from national and regional unders (including Knight Foundation). Since 2016, NewsMatch has helped hundreds of newsrooms raise more than $270 million. “The question is less about how to save the business model than about how we can build enduring solutions for journalism that serve everyone,” said Courtney Lewis, chief of growth programs for the Institute for Nonprofit News. “Seeing a growing swell of support for this type of journalism is truly exciting.”
🧑🏾🌾 Montgomery paper builds trust in rural Alabama. The Montgomery Advertiser had a serious challenge. The newspaper has a horrific history supporting slavery and white supremacy, but wanted to start serving rural Black communities in news deserts. With the help of Report for America corps member Hadley Hitson, the Advertiser began covering “Black Belt” towns by putting people first, listening and connecting with local leaders, churches and nonprofits. Not only did the paper begin producing more human-centered stories and positive coverage, it also increased subscriptions in eight targeted counties, including 200 percent in one, according to a Better News profile. Advertiser executive editor Paige Oliver Windsor and Hitson said the key was patience: “We couldn’t just will it into existence. We had to trust in our trial-and-error method, building our rural audience one by one.”
Sustainability
🤑 Reader revenue, sponsored content power smaller publishers. More conferences are focusing on the business side of publishing, and the Mather Media Revenue Symposium in Atlanta was no exception. Penny Riordan from Local Media Association wrote about her panel focusing on two smaller publishers, The Afro and the Sumter Item, which have had success with increasing reader revenues and sponsored content. The Afro, which turned 130 years old (!) last year, produced a special cookbook and streaming cooking show to drive memberships, which had a record year last year. And sponsored content now makes up 18 percent of revenues––a huge jump. Meanwhile, the Item has been growing print and digital subscriptions to make up 25 percent of revenues. “‘We tell the stories that would otherwise go untold’ is what we’re constantly telling and pitching to our community,” said Vince Johnson, publisher of the Item.
📥 Email newsletters defy the ad downturn... at least according to the six newsletter publishers Digiday’s Sara Guaglione talked with, including The Gist, Industry Dive and The Ankler. None of the publishers experienced layoffs, and many took on new advertisers and grew advertising revenues and subscribers, according to Guaglione. Front Office Sports, for example, said it was expecting 30–50 percent revenue growth this year. However, there are some signs of a slowdown, with some publishers saying CPM rates have dropped and ad campaigns have shortened. “Whereas they might have made a purchase for the entire year, they’re buying for a quarter or even a month now,” said Sean Griffey, CEO of Industry Dive.
Research
✨ Community-centered outlets empower Latinos. We’ve seen the reach of new Spanish-language news outlets powered by SMS, WhatsApp or email, such as El Timpano, Enlace Latino NC and Conecta Arizona. But can they really make a difference for their audiences? Yamil R. Velez, an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University, sought to find out. She compared audiences that consumed content from these (awkward acronym alert!) community-centered ethnic media outlets (CCEMOs) vs. those that viewed mainstream Spanish-language news. The results were stark, with those who consumed content from CCEMOs more likely to say they felt qualified to participate in politics and more likely to vote in the midterm elections. Those who consumed only mainstream sources were unsatisfied with coverage, and felt it was sensationalistic and biased. “By countering misinformation and promoting civic and political engagement, CCEMOs can help to ensure that Latino communities have a meaningful voice in the political process,” Velez concludes.
💸 Rural readers willing to pay for news, events. There’s an old saw in the newspaper world that the most ardent financial supporters are their elderly audience members. But a new survey of rural residents in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas by a trio of professors found that the majority would support events as a revenue stream, and that more people aged 54 and younger were willing to financially support their newspaper than those 55 and older. Events could be a big key for rural papers, as those who actually knew a journalist were twice as likely to financially support the paper. Many readers appreciated obituaries, birth announcements, features and a calendar of events, but wanted less opinion content. A separate survey of rural newspaper publishers found that they were fine sticking to advertising and subscription revenues, showing a need for a change in mindset. (The research results are behind a paywall but you can message the authors for a copy.)
Briefly 💼
JSK International Fellows were announced for 2023–24. For the second year, the fellows will focus on ideas to champion press freedom where it is under attack.
ProPublica announces three newsrooms to join its Local Reporting Network: High Country News, WABE and WPLN.
Texas Observer saves itself through a GoFundMe campaign, raising more than $300,000 in three days after saying it would close down.
Marshall Project wins a National Magazine Award for General Excellence, General Interest, its second NMA.
Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer win McElhany Award for the “Big Poultry” investigation, including a reporter funded with support from Journalism Funding Partners.
Training
Transforming Crime Reporting into Public Safety Journalism
Online Seminar from Poynter
May 16–November 28
$1,000 (with scholarships available)
Fellowships
MJ Bear Fellowship from Online News Association
Digital journalists under 30
Apply by April 27
Upcoming Events 📅
Building and Expanding News / Academic Partnerships
Various locations, produced by the Center for Community News
April 14–August 6
International Symposium for Online Journalism
Austin
April 14–15
International Journalism Festival
Perugia, Italy
April 19–23
Online
April 26–28
Deep South News Sustainability Meetup from LION Publishers
Jackson, Miss.
May 18
Collaborative Journalism Summit
Washington, DC
June 6–7
Washington, DC
June 8–9
Chicago
June 8–10
Philadelphia
August 23–26
Tweet of the Week
News @ Knight Credits
Written by Jim Brady, with Mark Glaser
Edited by Jim Brady, Jessica Clark and Kara Pickman
A Knight + Dot Connector Joint