Philanthropy's Role in Supporting Local Journalism and Telling Effective Stories

This article was written by 2024 Mutz Philanthropic Leadership Institute class members Katie Ottinger, Community Investment & Grants Officer at Community Foundation of Hancock County and Michelle Hummel, Strategic Planning Consultant

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - First Amendment, U.S. Constitution (emphasis added)

The U.S. Founding Fathers are widely regarded for their brilliance in establishing “a more perfect Union” in the great American experiment. While certainly not perfect in many ways, nearly 250 years after its founding, the U.S. is still a nation that idealizes liberty and self-rule. As our information consumption practices have changed and continue to change in the digital age, we should pause and take note that our founders prioritized a free and independent press as fundamental to a functioning democratic republic.

I (Katie) am a proud graduate of the Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College. While my career trajectory has taken me away from the front lines of reporting, I couldn’t help but “geek out” when IPA invited the Knight Foundation to make a case for philanthropy playing a role in supporting sustainable local news at the 2022 Philanthropy Leads Conference. Since then, we’ve seen the conversation continue to evolve on a national level. Earlier this month in Fort Wayne, the current Mutz Institute cohort dove deeper into this important topic with local practitioners, funders, and thought leaders.

This statistic underscored the critical timing of this conversation for me: Every week, an average of 2.5 newspapers shut down in the U.S. Since 2005, our country has lost nearly 2,900 newspapers (Source: The State of Local News Project, Northwestern University). In fact, the small newspaper where I completed a college internship no longer exists.

Why is this happening? Simply put, the traditional media business model that relies on advertising has changed since the proliferation of the internet. Information intake habits have also changed – gone are the days of flipping through a newspaper over coffee, replaced by smartphone scrolling. People are less inclined to pay for content.

What does this mean for communities? It means over the past several years there has been an erosion of access to quality information. According to Northwestern Now, “In communities without a strong print or digital news organization, voter participation declines and corruption increases, contributing to the spread of misinformation, political polarization, and reduced trust in media.”

“The need to innovate is urgent,” says Tim Franklin, Sr. Associate Dean, Director, Medill Local News Initiative, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News.

While for-profit news remains an essential piece of the ecosystem, there are several examples of innovation across the country that involve nonprofits and philanthropy.

We heard distinct calls to action from the Mutz Institute presenters. First, understand the unique situation in your community by engaging in deep listening to determine what information needs exist. From there, whether you’re in a news desert or you still have an established media outlet, consider what role (if any) your foundation might play. Is it leading the charge to rebuild the local news landscape? Is it providing grant support to help sustain a critical media source? Is it promoting media literacy to community members? Something else?

This work is not easy and fraught with potential pitfalls. Editorial independence free of stakeholder influence (including our own!) and journalistic integrity focused on fact-based storytelling are paramount and require discipline and standards to achieve and sustain. Gaining or maintaining the public’s confidence in an era of mistrust is a mountain in itself.

However, as John Dortch, Publisher/Owner of the Fort Wayne Ink Spot challenged our cohort, “You can’t rise to a low bar.”

Press Forward, a movement to reenergize local news, states boldly on its website: “Democracy flourishes when people have access to reliable information.” They highlighted the closure of 360 news outlets before the pandemic, pointing out challenges in engaging younger audiences and fostering connections with different demographics. Whether or not local news is a stated initiative area for our foundations, we have the privilege of doing our work because we operate within the system of a healthy democratic republic. As community leaders, we each have the responsibility to do our part in ensuring that a critical cog in the machine of our community is functioning.

That’s a bar worth rising to because the public has a right to honest news and informative stories, and during this month’s programming we learned that at least 3.3M people live in news deserts and don’t have access to reputable news sources. We were asked how many members of the cohort are familiar with movements such as Press Forward in their local communities; only one person raised their hand. Out of 20+ people in the room, with representation from across all of Indiana (rural and urban), only one person could site a local news source in their area helping to bridge the gap to access. We need to be more considerate of fact- and evidence-based media and our approach on how to reach everyone.

I (Michelle) learned so much about Philanthropy and Journalism during this session. What resonated with me the most was when the idea of supporting journalism and the future of news was highlighted on the same level of importance (if not more) as supporting the arts, education, historic landmarks, etc. Many members of our community are actively investing in these areas; we must continue to do better in terms of support for the future of journalism and awareness at large.

News and feature reporting is only effective if the storytelling is of high quality and available to everyone. Anne Wolfcale with Well Done Marketing encouraged us to use stories to educate, drive action, create connection, and demonstrate impact. Every organization has the ability to tell great stories, she said.

Maudlyne Ihejirika is an award-winning urban affairs reporter, columnist, author, and selfie-enthusiast who helped our group better understand the future of Journalism is a community-first approach. We learned community engagement is no longer a luxury but a necessity, and participatory journalism starts with building trust and ensuring news reporting is relevant and impactful.

Audiences crave diverse perspectives and fact-based content that keeps their attention. News outlets need to be a platform for dialogue and collaborations, as this is the only way to build trust that will support the future of journalism.

When telling these stories, whether in a press release or in our foundation’s own publications, Anne Wolfcale shared pointers for honoring the storyteller:

• Treat the storyteller with respect
• Share stories with empathy
• Show – don’t tell – when possible

In a time when the average human attention span is a few short minutes (if not seconds), we must also ask: What are the key elements of making people care? People generally don’t act because a.) they don’t know how or b.) they don’t care.

In a brief conversation with Maudlyne, I (Michelle) asked her where she get her news? Her response was in this order:

1. New York Times
2. Washington Post
3. Chicago Sun-Times
4. Chicago Tribune
5. X (formerly Twitter)

Cities without robust news outlets risk higher government costs, prompting a movement to reimagine local news supported by both corporate and philanthropic sectors. This transformation presents an opportunity to redefine the role of journalism in daily life, emphasizing deep community listening and innovative approaches like SMS texting for news dissemination.

As mentioned, but never to be reinforced enough, access to reliable information is crucial for public engagement and action. This aligns with the broader narrative of journalism as a catalyst for social change, urging investments that support both journalistic integrity and community relevance.

In summary, these discussions outline the challenges and opportunities facing local news and journalism, advocating for innovative solutions, good storytelling, and renewed commitments to community-centric reporting and equity in an evolving media landscape.

Critical thinking questions for foundations on the intersection of philanthropy and journalism:

• What is one action you can take in the next six months to explore or address gaps in local news and information access in your community?
• How often do you personally look at diverse news sources? Have you considered the quality of content you consume and how it impacts your perspectives and biases?
• Has the importance of trust- and community-based journalism increased to you personally since learning more about the topic?