Mr. Ibargüen is a social innovator. He’s trying to stimulate the philanthropic market to think in new ways and should be commended. His comments reached beyond print media to include all forms of social interaction. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he responded directly to this blog!
In addition to issuing a number of challenge grant opportunities to those present, I thought Mr. Ibargüen’s perspective on how today’s youth get and use information was particularly fascinating. I’m a dinosaur - I think if the media being print and TV. Mr. Ibargüen has funded projects to try and access the instant and text messaging markets. He’s looking at both the changing role of media in our lives, as well as the technology environment which brings us 50,005 messages a day.
How we interact as a community has a profound impact on the future of philanthropy. The most likely consumers of these new “news” channels, ie my kids, will also be the most likely to have a social conscience and become volunteers, Board members and contributors. Funding a reporter may not sound appropriate for a grant, until one considers the broader context of the intent.
We’re at the dawn of a new day, and Mr. Ibargüen is exploring it’s possibilities. Well done!
I love the comment by the distinguished CEO and President of the Knight Foundation, Alberto Ibarguen that “When we don’t have an informed citizenry, democracy is in peril.” Unfortunately the record of major grantmakers defies the truth of this statement. As an independent media producer for 20 years, I could spend all day recounting tragic errors and missteps by funders who want to discover something new at the price of something that works. Citizen journalism for example has received massive support - not so, efforts to increase diversity in the newsroom, efforts to build ethnic and minority media with its fresh and insightful voices; nor efforts to link Americans with social justice movements nationwide and worldwide.
Meanwhile, corporate media has consolidated its power, and information on most major media is determined by what they happen to be peddling. With one terrible war underway and another threatened, meaningful support for solid journalism and independent media is way overdue.
Funders and grantmakers must seriously strategize with independent media for their future survival and there needs to be a stop to making us, the producers, into competitors for cripplingly small amounts of support.
I think community foundation support of a local investigative reporter is a great idea. If people don’t read as much, how could the newspaper get the info out to everyone, by the internet or how. If I am a subscriber to say SJ Mercury News, for an extra $10 mo, could I also have it by internet? Kay Schauer
Public access television is one of the best forums for free speech. Citizen journalists could greatly increase their reach by using television as well as the Web to report their stories or simply speak their minds. A great project would be for a foundation to support independent journalists who publish on the Web and partner with local public access TV stations to create programs on cable TV. Shows could be sent on DVD or via the Internet to other access centers everywhere.
I absolutely think we need something beyond “for-profit” media that in particular does some hard hitting investigative reporting that seems to be diminishing in many news offices as costs outweigh revenue. Equally and possibly more important is a much wider movement to fund and create real media literacy K-12, to paraphrase: “We need information in a democracy. When we have a misinformed citizenry, democracy is in peril.”
COMMENTS
BY Collis O. Townsend
ON September 20, 2007 03:25 PM
Mr. Ibargüen is a social innovator. He’s trying to stimulate the philanthropic market to think in new ways and should be commended. His comments reached beyond print media to include all forms of social interaction. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he responded directly to this blog!
In addition to issuing a number of challenge grant opportunities to those present, I thought Mr. Ibargüen’s perspective on how today’s youth get and use information was particularly fascinating. I’m a dinosaur - I think if the media being print and TV. Mr. Ibargüen has funded projects to try and access the instant and text messaging markets. He’s looking at both the changing role of media in our lives, as well as the technology environment which brings us 50,005 messages a day.
How we interact as a community has a profound impact on the future of philanthropy. The most likely consumers of these new “news” channels, ie my kids, will also be the most likely to have a social conscience and become volunteers, Board members and contributors. Funding a reporter may not sound appropriate for a grant, until one considers the broader context of the intent.
We’re at the dawn of a new day, and Mr. Ibargüen is exploring it’s possibilities. Well done!
BY Lisa Vives
ON September 21, 2007 09:12 AM
I love the comment by the distinguished CEO and President of the Knight Foundation, Alberto Ibarguen that “When we don’t have an informed citizenry, democracy is in peril.” Unfortunately the record of major grantmakers defies the truth of this statement. As an independent media producer for 20 years, I could spend all day recounting tragic errors and missteps by funders who want to discover something new at the price of something that works. Citizen journalism for example has received massive support - not so, efforts to increase diversity in the newsroom, efforts to build ethnic and minority media with its fresh and insightful voices; nor efforts to link Americans with social justice movements nationwide and worldwide.
Meanwhile, corporate media has consolidated its power, and information on most major media is determined by what they happen to be peddling. With one terrible war underway and another threatened, meaningful support for solid journalism and independent media is way overdue.
Funders and grantmakers must seriously strategize with independent media for their future survival and there needs to be a stop to making us, the producers, into competitors for cripplingly small amounts of support.
BY Kay & Robert Schauer
ON September 21, 2007 10:41 AM
I think community foundation support of a local investigative reporter is a great idea. If people don’t read as much, how could the newspaper get the info out to everyone, by the internet or how. If I am a subscriber to say SJ Mercury News, for an extra $10 mo, could I also have it by internet? Kay Schauer
BY Wendy Blom
ON September 21, 2007 10:44 AM
Public access television is one of the best forums for free speech. Citizen journalists could greatly increase their reach by using television as well as the Web to report their stories or simply speak their minds. A great project would be for a foundation to support independent journalists who publish on the Web and partner with local public access TV stations to create programs on cable TV. Shows could be sent on DVD or via the Internet to other access centers everywhere.
BY Ann Lehman
ON September 23, 2007 06:30 PM
I absolutely think we need something beyond “for-profit” media that in particular does some hard hitting investigative reporting that seems to be diminishing in many news offices as costs outweigh revenue. Equally and possibly more important is a much wider movement to fund and create real media literacy K-12, to paraphrase: “We need information in a democracy. When we have a misinformed citizenry, democracy is in peril.”