Case Study Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Equity First – Transforming Journalism and Journalism Philanthropy in a New Civic Age

February 3, 2021
“This engagement was an opportunity for us to demonstrate how our capacity to center DEI expands beyond the interior focus of a particular organization and across the community of organizations and entities that spans an entire industry.”
—Marion Johnson

Our Role

Few industries have more influence or a greater opportunity in the current climate to transform than journalism. Accordingly, the News Integrity Initiative (NII) at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism commissioned Frontline to examine the need and potential for equity in journalism and, specifically, journalism philanthropy. In our research, we convened a series of conversations with more than a dozen program officers, project directors, and senior leaders at eight foundations that include media and journalism in their grantmaking. Working closely with NII, we created a 20-page report that reflects the results of those discussions, outlining the support leaders need to center DEI within their organizations, in their grantmaking strategies, and across the philanthropic and journalism sectors. The final report lays out three core challenges of operationalizing a DEI lens and offers five recommendations for how funders can play a part to revolutionize journalism.