January 27, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
A foundation effort to support local news is raising questions about the growing role of philanthropic support for the American press.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in Miami, awarded $5-million in grants to 21 projects this month designed to help Americans be better informed about local news. (Read The Chronicle’s article about the program.)
David Westphal, a former newspaper journalist who writes a blog about journalism as a senior fellow for the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Journalism School, in Los Angeles, says the program rankled at least one local newspaper.
The San Antonio Area Foundation received a $488,500 to create Web videos about community stories. “Its proposal,” writes Mr. Westphal, “began this way: ‘Although ranked in the top 50 media markets in the country, San Antonio lacks in-depth news coverage about diverse communities and issues.’”
He continues: “Robert Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News, was taken aback. He sought out the foundation’s director, Reggie Williams, to ask how the foundation could be making such a claim given the newspaper’s concerted efforts to reflect and report on the city’s diversity. Williams issued a statement praising San Antonio’s local media and, while not backing away from the project, said it was in no way intended as a slap.”
Despite this incident, Mr. Wesphal writes that Mr. Rivard and some other newspaper editors expressed interest in raising money from foundations. But others said they were concerned that such financial ties with philanthropy would jeopardize the independence of news outlets.
(As an aside, Mr. Westphal’s blog is affiliated with the Knight Digital Media Center, which is supported by the Knight foundation.)
A similar debate about the press arose last month when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave $3.5-million to “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer” television show to ensure coverage of malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, measles, neglected diseases, and other global-health issues.
Read The Chronicle’s article about philanthropists who are supporting nonprofit news operations. (A paid subscription or free temporary pass is required to view the Chronicle articles.)
What do you think of the Knight program? Should newspapers and other news outlets receive money from foundations or other donors? Click on the comment button to share your views.
