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Eugene

(61,974 posts) Tue Feb 19, 2019, 08:26 AM Feb 2019

Knight Foundation doubling spending to boost local news

Source: Associated Press

By DAVID BAUDER
2 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — The Knight Foundation says it will invest $300 million in local journalism over the next five years, seeding several programs designed to kick-start an industry decimated by layoffs and newspaper closures over the last 15 years.

The plans, announced Tuesday, will double the amount of spending the foundation started by newspaper publisher brothers John S. and James L. Knight has been making in this area over the past few years.

Among the beneficiaries are the American Journalism Project, which provides grants to local nonprofit news organizations; the investigative site ProPublica; Report for America, a service organization that pays for the hiring of local journalists; and PBS’ “Frontline,” the documentary program that’s making its first foray into local news.

“What this initiative aims to do is really help build a future for local news,” said Jennifer Preston, vice president for journalism at the Knight Foundation.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/ca9fc2faabf3490497f302c5cf932f3c

Posted to LBN by request.

4 replies

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Knight Foundation doubling spending to boost local news (Original Post) Eugene Feb 2019 OP

The Documenters Program would appeal to many of us. mia Feb 2019 #1

Was always wondering BumRushDaShow Feb 2019 #2

Grew accustomed to hearing the name of this foundation as a sponsor of ATC on NPR pecosbob Feb 2019 #3

Call me cynical, but I am too suspicious of all big paper owners... not_the_one Feb 2019 #4

mia

(8,363 posts)

1. The Documenters Program would appeal to many of us.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Tue Feb 19, 2019, 09:00 AM

Feb 2019

...Knight has also supported the Documenters Program, started by the City Bureau in Chicago, where citizens are trained by journalists and dispatched to cover local government meetings. The project is expanding to other cities.

That effort, however, illustrates the challenges faced by philanthropists. Funding specific investigative projects has its worth, but the impact of cutbacks is seen — or, more accurately, not seen — in the thousands of state, city and town government organizations whose meetings are no longer attended by reporters on a regular basis.

Recovering what has been lost by the thousands of journalists no longer on the beat requires fundamental changes in the business of local journalism. Preston said Knight recognizes this and is funding efforts designed to develop more sustainable business models.

“We are at a critical juncture at this moment in time to make these investments at a local level to help rebuild trust in journalism, one community at a time,” she said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20190219/news/302199972/

I hope that the Documenters Program can be expanded to include more locations.

Your city officials are making big decisions.

We’ve made it easy to keep tabs.
Search locations, dates, times and official records for your local government’s public meetings—updated daily in one centralized location for Chicago and Detroit.

The problem
Local government bodies hold thousands of public meetings every day—but the vast majority receive no media coverage and produce minimal records.

And these important spaces for democracy go unwatched.

Our solution
We train & pay people like you to attend these meetings and publish the results in collaboration with local journalists.

https://www.documenters.org/

BumRushDaShow

(130,043 posts)

2. Was always wondering

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Tue Feb 19, 2019, 09:36 AM

Feb 2019

if what was left of Knight-Ridder would ever return after the big sale to McClatchy.

Of course then there is this -

pecosbob

(7,550 posts)

3. Grew accustomed to hearing the name of this foundation as a sponsor of ATC on NPR

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Tue Feb 19, 2019, 12:28 PM

Feb 2019

not_the_one

(2,227 posts)

4. Call me cynical, but I am too suspicious of all big paper owners...

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Tue Feb 19, 2019, 02:15 PM

Feb 2019

What better way to distract citizens from the sell-out and take-over of our nation by right-wing ideologues, evangelical nutjobs hoping for the end times, or Putin making us another arm of his new world order, than have us clamoring over local news that will be cast as sensational, if it bleeds it leads, type stories.

It could be just a expansion of watching local news now where the reporter shoves a camera in someone's face, asks a ridiculous question like "how does it feel to have your daughter shot by a gunman", hoping the interviewee will end in tears. It makes for great teevee.

Meanwhile, our country has been dismantled from within by the likes of turdface and his minions.

But that is just me.

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