Building the Journalism Infrastructure for Healthy Communities
We asked each of you to share ideas on the most pressing topics for you in your journalism grant-making to guide our lunch discussion. Here’s a summary of what you told us. Feel free to provide any additional perspectives, and we can add it to this document before we gather. Everyone offered many insightful questions as we prepare for the Center’s next 15 years, and we look forward to discussing your ideas.
America’s Political Divide and Media Grant-making
- How is your foundation approaching the political divide in America?
- Are you expanding your policy work?
- Are you thinking about value messaging? Are you working on ways to change hearts and minds in any contentious spaces? Are you working on ways to get your messaging noticed in spite of shrinking windows of attention?
- How is this playing out, or not playing out, in your grant-making to media?
Enhancing Diversity and Addressing News Deserts and Rural Health
- How can we enhance diversity, both in our grant projects and in how we communicate about our work?
- How can we bring international lessons on health care to the United States in a way that resonates?
- How can we best reach other challenging audiences, such as those in rural communities?
Diversity and News Collaborations
- For collaborative reporting between larger new outlets and ethnic media, how do those collaborations work and how can we help them to work bi-directionally so it’s not just the big outlet translating into Spanish for a small outlet?
- How can these collaborations take form?
- How can we do more grant-making around Spanish-language journalism?
Foundation Collaboration on Journalism Grant-making
- What observations and examples can others share on how to make it work?
- How do we encourage more collaboration among foundations?
- With so much media consolidation, there is more of a need for collaboration among foundations. How does that start and what sustains it?
- How can we encourage more foundation funding and journalism grant-making on behavioral health and mental health, which are top health care issues for Californians?
- From the journalism field’s perspective, how does the industry view the partnership/funder role of philanthropy? Are we experiencing conflict or pushback in our work in California, particularly around “audience engagement” activities?
- The role of podcasts in the current media/journalism environment and future trends. Is there research or are there white papers, etc. that may guide future funding priorities?
Keeping the Focus on Children, Young People and Families
- How can journalism build support for helping children and young people to "be ready to thrive by 25” and become successful adults in America?”
- How can we build understanding around the development that continues to occur in adolescents and young adults, especially in the context of juvenile justice and the foster care systems?
- What kinds of narratives will help young people get past biases to build self-esteem and also help create greater societal understanding?
- More broadly, how do we change the odds?