2023 Knight Media Forum In-Person Agenda
AGENDA
*Subject to change
Note: The Knight Media Forum program will be streamed online, except for the Breakout Sessions.
Download a list of attendees here.
Download a PDF of the agenda here.
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
| 1:00 p.m. EST – 5:00 p.m. EST || Registration – Atrium, Third Floor | |
| 5:30 p.m. EST || Welcome Reception – Corporate Lounge 19th Floor |
Day One
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023
| 7:00 a.m. EST – 8:45 a.m. EST || Buffet Breakfast – Met Prefunction South, Third Floor | |
| 9:00 a.m. EST – 9:15 a.m. EST || Welcome – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Knight leadership opens the 16th annual Knight Media Forum, the premiere event for leaders in philanthropy, journalism and technology to put forward new ideas and exchange diverse perspectives. Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation Kelly Jin, Knight Foundation |
| 9:15 a.m. EST – 10:15 a.m. EST || Knight x LMA Bloom Lab: The Power of Collaboration – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Participants in the Knight x LMA Bloom Lab, a groundbreaking partnership between the nation’s leading Black news publishers, will discuss how they’re working together to reinvent their iconic publications from a financial, technical and editorial perspective. Speakers: Paulette Brown-Hinds, Black Voice News, Sonny Messiah Jiles, Defender Media Group John Celestand, Knight x LMA BloomLab (moderator) |
| 10:15 a.m. EST – 11:15 a.m. EST || Racial Healing and the Media – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| W.K. Kellogg Foundation and NBCUniversal explore their yearlong media partnership to promote dialogue around racial equity and advance racial healing. Emma Carrasco, NBCUniversal News Group, Michael Murphy and Stephanie Dukes, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Kelly Jin, Knight Foundation (moderator) 11:15 a.m. EST – 11:25 a.m. EST || Break – Third Floor |
| 11:25 a.m. EST – 12:25 p.m. EST || Breakout sessions |
| Funding Journalism 101: Make the Case for Support – Plaza 1, Level 5 When talking with funders, how do news organizations and entrepreneurs make the best case for supporting journalism? And how can funders be better partners with grantees? Andrea Hart, MLK50 and Jill Ozarski, Walton Family Foundation Karen Rundlet, Knight Foundation (moderator) How to Partner with the Public to Keep Communities Informed – Gallery 2, Level 4 As readers provide more revenue for news outlets, publishers are pushed to find new ways to engage them as sources and stakeholders of news content. Learn how some of the smartest thinkers in this space are approaching this challenge as a business opportunity. Madeleine Bair, El Timpano and Eric Marsh, WHYY/NICE Ashley Alvarado, Southern California Public Radio (moderator) The 2024 Election: Local News Organizations and New Approaches to Political Coverage – Plaza 4, Level 5 Traditional horse-race coverage of elections has been under fire for years, but newsrooms will have another chance to rethink how they cover elections soon. Learn about some of the new approaches and platforms. Sergio Bustos, WLRN and Neil Chase, CalMatters Emily Ramshaw, the 19th* (moderator) Reaching Underserved Audiences: Effective Approaches – Plaza 5, Level 5 From war veterans to indigenous populations, underserved audiences are widely dispersed geographically and ideologically and can be better served with diversified news rooms. Hear from news leaders and journalists successfully addressing this challenge. Thomas Brennan, The War Horse, Dave Kurpius, University of Missouri, and Karen Lincoln Michel, Indian Country Today Duc Luu, Knight Foundation (moderator) How New Technologies Power Newsrooms, Reporting and Community Engagement – Junior Ballroom A, Level 5 Technology was once viewed as a distraction by most newsrooms. But times have changed, and many are now experimenting with new tools and platforms to aid their reporting and community engagement. Alexis Madrigal, KQED, Lisa Gibbs, The Associated Press, and Claire Leibowicz, The Partnership on AI Marc Lavallee, Knight Foundation (moderator) How Newsrooms Can Tap Into Existing Legal Resources to Support Their Work – Junior Ballroom B, Level 5 Legal support can often be unaffordable for small publishers but that support often allows impactful stories to be published and can keeps legally embattled publishers in business. Thankfully, there are now legal options for smaller newsrooms looking to make a difference. Bruce Brown, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and David Bralow, Lawyers for Reporters Nabiha Syed, The Markup (moderator) Radical Engagement Embedded in Local News and Information: A Case Study – Junior Ballroom C, Level 5 Leaders from Lexington, Kentucky talk about how CivicLex embedded an engagement process into local news and information to help with community decision-making. Lisa Adkins, Blue Grass Community Foundation and Richard Young, CivicLex StoryCorps: How the Organization’s One Small Step Program Bridges Political Divides – Gallery 1, Level 4 StoryCorps’ One Small Step program is partnering with community foundations to help foster dialogue between those from different parts of the political spectrum. Hear how this program is doing in its fight against political polarization and isolation. Courtney Bengtson, Wichita Foundation and Lisa Gale, LVG Strategy Group The Roadmap for Local News – Plaza2, Level 5 Over the past year, more than 50 industry leaders were interviewed by a team developing a plan to reimagine local news in the United States. The final product – the Roadmap for Local News – was released in early February. At this session, the co-authors of the roadmap will lay out its findings and take questions for the audience. Elizabeth Green, Chalkbeat, Darryl Holliday, City Bureau, and Mike Rispoli, Free Press |
| 1:00 p.m. EST –1:45 p.m. EST || Luncheon: The Key to Scaling News Start-Ups – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Three years after its launch, The American Journalism Project and news leaders the project supports discuss how transforming business models is strengthening local news. Sarabeth Berman, American Journalism Project, Lila Mills, Signal Cleveland, and Mary Margaret White, Mississippi Today |
| 1:45 p.m. EST – 2:45 p.m. EST || Dessert Break/Meet-ups – Third Floor, Prefunction North and South, Third Floor |
| 2:45 p.m. EST – 3:45 p.m. EST || The Big Picture: Where Local Journalism Now Stands – Met Ballroom, Third Floor | |
| The past few years have seen positive trends in local media – including increased diversity inside and atop newsrooms, significant revenue gains across the nonprofit sector and the creation of smart shared infrastructure – but the journalism business is far from out of the woods. In this rapid-fire session, we’ll explore the current state of the local media playing field. Sue Cross, Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), Kinsey Wilson, Newspack at Automattic, and Graciela Mochkofsky, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Jim Brady, Knight Foundation (moderator) |
| 3:45 p.m. EST – 4:30 p.m. EST || Journalism Funding Collaboration – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Funders interested in journalism have been discussing pooling funds to accelerate the transformation of the local news ecosystem. Hear the latest effort, and how funders can connect to it. Jim Brady, Knight Foundation, Jeff Cohen, Arnold Ventures, Kristen Mack, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |
| 4:35 p.m. EST – 5:30 p.m. EST || Follow the Money: Community Investments and Accountability Journalism – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Nonprofit news sites are helping the public track major infrastructure projects in Detroit and in Lexington, Kentucky. Lisa Adkins, Blue Grass Community Foundation, Michele Jolin, Results for America, Catherine Kelly, Bridge Detroit, María Inés Zamudio, Center for Public Integrity |
| 5:30 p.m. EST – 6:30 p.m. EST || Networking Reception – Met Prefunction North and South, Third Floor |
Day Two
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
| 7:00 a.m. EST – 8:45 a.m. EST Breakfast Buffet – Pre-Function North and South, Third Floor | |
| 9:00 a.m. EST – 9:15 a.m. EST || Welcome – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| As we begin the last day of Knight Media Forum, we commit to strengthening local news and ensuring communities across America are informed and engaged. Jim Brady, Knight Foundation, Knight Media Forum Day Two Host |
| 9:00 a.m. EST – 9:15 a.m. EST || Are We Really That Polarized? – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
| Today, our country appears more divided along ideological lines than at any point in recent memory, but is that sentiment shared by all – or even most – Americans? Some Americans sit idly on the edges while others feel relatively removed, disengaged, and event alienated in society. In this session, two civic leaders discuss ways to repair this misalignment and what the consequences could be for America if we don’t. The Honorable Larry Hogan, Darren Walker, Ford Foundation Susan King, University of North Carolina (moderator) |
| 10:15 a.m. EST – 11:30 a.m. EST || Breakout Sessions |
| Funding Journalism 101: Make the Case for Support – Plaza 1, Level 5 When talking with funders, how do news organizations and entrepreneurs make the best case for supporting journalism? And how can funders be better partners with grantees? Andrea Hart, MLK50 and Jill Ozarski, Walton Family Foundation Karen Rundlet, Knight Foundation (moderator) How to Partner with the Public to Keep Communities Informed – Gallery 2, Level 4 As readers provide more revenue for news outlets, publishers are pushed to find new ways to engage them as sources and stakeholders of news content. Learn how some of the smartest thinkers in this space are approaching this challenge as a business opportunity. Madeleine Bair, El Timpano and Eric Marsh, WHYY/NICE Ashley Alvarado, Southern California Public Radio (moderator) The 2024 Election: Local News Organizations and New Approaches to Political Coverage – Plaza 4, Level 5 Traditional horse-race coverage of elections has been under fire for years, but newsrooms will have another chance to rethink how they cover elections soon. Learn about some of the new approaches and platforms. Sergio Bustos, WLRN and Neil Chase, CalMatters Emily Ramshaw, the 19th* (moderator) Reaching Underserved Audiences: Effective Approaches – Plaza 5, Level 5 From war veterans to indigenous populations, underserved audiences are widely dispersed geographically and ideologically and can be better served with diversified news rooms. Hear from news leaders and journalists successfully addressing this challenge. Thomas Brennan, The War Horse, Dave Kurpius, University of Missouri, and Karen Lincoln Michel, Indian Country Today Duc Luu, Knight Foundation (moderator) How New Technologies Power Newsrooms, Reporting and Community Engagement – Junior Ballroom A, Level 5 Technology was once viewed as a distraction by most newsrooms. But times have changed, and many are now experimenting with new tools and platforms to aid their reporting and community engagement. Alexis Madrigal, KQED, Lisa Gibbs, The Associated Press, and Claire Leibowicz, The Partnership on AI Marc Lavallee, Knight Foundation (moderator) How Newsrooms Can Tap Into Existing Legal Resources to Support Their Work – Junior Ballroom B, Level 5 Legal support can often be unaffordable for small publishers but that support often allows impactful stories to be published and can keeps legally embattled publishers in business. Thankfully, there are now legal options for smaller newsrooms looking to make a difference. Bruce Brown, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and David Bralow, Lawyers for Reporters Nabiha Syed, The Markup (moderator) Radical Engagement Embedded in Local News and Information: A Case Study – Junior Ballroom C, Level 5 Leaders from Lexington, Kentucky talk about how CivicLex embedded an engagement process into local news and information to help with community decision-making. Lisa Adkins, Blue Grass Community Foundation and Richard Young, CivicLex StoryCorps: How the Organization’s One Small Step Program Bridges Political Divides – Gallery 1, Level 4 StoryCorps’ One Small Step program is partnering with community foundations to help foster dialogue between those from different parts of the political spectrum. Hear how this program is doing in its fight against political polarization and isolation. Courtney Bengtson and Wichita Foundation, Lisa Gale, LVG Strategy Group The Roadmap for Local News – Plaza2, Level 5 Over the past year, more than 50 industry leaders were interviewed by a team developing a plan to reimagine local news in the United States. The final product – the Roadmap for Local News – was released in early February. At this session, the co-authors of the roadmap will lay out its findings and take questions for the audience. Elizabeth Green, Chalkbeat, Darryl Holliday, City Bureau, and Mike Rispoli, Free Press 11: 15 a.m. EST – 11:45 a.m. EST || Break – Third Floor |
| 12:30 p.m. EST – 1:30 p.m. EST || The Future Belongs to the Connected – Met Ballroom, Third Floor |
Because the Internet is a requisite for 21st century success, today’s choices on communications infrastructure and access will shape the country’s future growth and success, Rosenworcel says. Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC and Jim Brady, Knight Foundation |
| 1:30–2:15 p.m. EST || Closing Remarks |
| Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation |
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