We know diversity has a significant impact on the quality of journalism. More diverse staffs can produce a wider range of stories and perspectives. They can provide inclusive content, an imperative for the longevity of any media platform. With better representation of communities, a diverse newsroom can also build audience trust and even make news […]
Article · April 3, 2023 by Karen Rundlet and Knight Foundation
Early seed funding can lead to big things when other investors join in I wrote previously about how important it is to Knight to increase the overall philanthropic spend on local journalism. We know we can’t do it alone, and believe there are a variety of family and place-based foundations, local donors and national foundations that can […]
Article · August 30, 2022 by Karen Rundlet and Knight Foundation
Explaining Knight’s networked approach to philanthropy; local news more trusted than national news At a recent journalism conference, grantees and journalism leaders asked the Knight Journalism team tough questions about how philanthropy operates. Outside of public media, which has been fundraising for local news for years, philanthropy for journalism is still relatively new. Keep in […]
Article · May 23, 2022 by Karen Rundlet
An interesting trend emerged in U.S. journalism in 2016: concerned citizens began sending unsolicited donations to newsrooms to support journalism outlets. We wondered if we could harness that community support to help make journalism more successful and sustainable in local communities. That’s what inspired Knight Foundation to launch NewsMatch, a national network that creates a […]
Article · November 30, 2021 by Karen Rundlet
Knight Foundation’s new, $1.5 million investment in the Chicago-based outlet will help strengthen its role in public service journalism With fewer professional journalists covering public meetings, residents and reporters don’t always have access to complete information on civic issues. City Bureau, a Chicago-based civic journalism lab, has pioneered a new approach: training residents to report […]
Article · February 25, 2021 by Karen Rundlet
It’s no secret that local news outlets are facing looming obstacles. Newspapers, the largest producers of original local reporting in communities, have lost ad revenues to tech platforms, cut their staff, and — in the worst cases — shut their doors. News deserts are expanding, and communities are left without critical coverage on important issues. […]
Article · November 21, 2019 by Karen Rundlet
On March 31, Knight announced a $6 million investment in three organizations helping create a strong support system for local newsrooms across the country. Learn more about the announcement here. Since Knight Foundation announced a $300 million initiative in February to help rebuild local news, we’ve received an exuberant response from funders, civic leaders and […]
Article · March 31, 2019 by Karen Rundlet
Karen Rundlet is director for journalism at Knight Foundation. Below she writes about NewsMatch, the annual national matching gifts campaign for nonprofit news organizations, which is accepting donations today through Dec. 31. This is the third year for NewsMatch, the national matching-gift campaign that supports nonprofit organizations across the country. The campaign’s participants, all of them […]
Article · November 1, 2018 by Karen Rundlet
If news and information are part of the fabric of democracy, then the fabric of U.S. democracy is in tatters. That’s the conclusion that leaps off the map in the 2018 The Expanding News Deserts report, which shows that 171 U.S. counties do not have a local newspaper, and nearly half all counties – 1,449 […]
Article · October 16, 2018 by Karen Rundlet
As Knight Foundation continues to study television news, its role in informing communities, and possibilities for the future, we are also examining data around television audiences. While most people in the U.S. still get their news from TV, the picture is not all rosy. New Knight research published today shows that the TV audience is […]
Article · May 23, 2018 by Karen Rundlet
Today, Knight Foundation is announcing $2.6 million in support to five projects to advance innovation and journalism excellence in local television newsrooms. Local newspapers across the United States continue to grapple with collapsing business models amidst the digital disruption of news. The decline, and in some cases, disappearance of these traditional news outlets has created […]
Article · February 8, 2018 by Karen Rundlet