Today, Maribel Pèrez Wadsworth, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, wrote about a partnership between the foundation and the Poynter Institute to educate philanthropic funders interested in supporting local news about journalism ethics and the importance of independent reporting.
“Poynter has worked for decades to help journalists do their work ethically and honestly and so we are honored to work with Knight Foundation to deliver this relevant training for funders who seek to sustain and grow the local news ecosystem,” said Neil Brown, Poynter president.
The initiative will roll out in phases. Poynter is in the process of hiring a faculty member to lead the program. Here are more details:
The first phase will help funders explore their purpose in supporting local journalism, provide an overview of how journalists serve communities, and provide a key primer on the “rules of engagement” ethics policies that all journalism organizations have with regard to those who provide economic support. It will:
- Explore why philanthropic donors would want to fund local news.
- Help funders build a checklist of all the things they’d need to be successful.
- Provide speakers from all perspectives and real examples of the issues that could arise.
- Guide potential funders through the creation of their own statement of purpose on funding journalism, examining their motives and desired outcomes.
The second phase, which will begin in 2025, will include Poynter working more directly with local funders through one-on-one mentorship and coaching, exploring questions ranging from how they will choose projects to fund to what restrictions, if any, might be imposed on grantees.
A third phase will provide a more in-depth exploration of how news organizations operate, what makes them special and how foundations can be best positioned to provide support.
You can learn more about Poynter’s work on ethics and its Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership here.
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