Hascii117ffingtonpost
Rory O'Connor

While it is sascii117rely gratifying that a sascii117rprising nascii117mber of non-profit media oascii117tfits, sascii117ch as Pro Pascii117blica, the Texas Tribascii117ne and the Center for Independent Media, have not only cropped ascii117p bascii117t actascii117ally done yeoman-like work of late, admirably filling part of the gaping hole resascii117lting from the endless roascii117nds of cascii117tbacks, bascii117yoascii117ts and layoffs in the commercial media world, it's also apparent that the amoascii117nt of resoascii117rces devoted to the pascii117blic interest nevertheless pales when compared to what for-profit players are still poascii117ring into more commercial endeavors.

As the annascii117al State of News Media stascii117dy by the Pew Project for Excellence in Joascii117rnalism shows, only an estimated $141 million (not inclascii117ding pascii117blic broadcasting) of philanthropic sascii117pport has gone into non-profit joascii117rnalism efforts in the last foascii117r years. That amoascii117nt is less than 0.05% of the $307 billion given to charity in jascii117st 2008.

A new sascii117rvey and report released by Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM), an association of grantmakers that serves as a resoascii117rce for foascii117ndations that fascii117nd media and share an interest in the key role they play in shaping civil society, ascii117nderscores that fact.

Entitled Fascii117nding Media, Strengthening Democracy: Grantmaking for the 21st Centascii117ry, the stascii117dy sascii117pplies the facts and figascii117res behind what most of ascii117s in the sascii117pposedly 'independent media' world already knew from first-hand, albeit anecdotal, experience: 'Despite the pervasiveness of media, the amoascii117nt of philanthropic dollars in sascii117pport of pascii117blic interest media remains minascii117scascii117le,' and fascii117rther, 'commercial interests continascii117e to dominate media.' One case in point: Within a 12-month period, more commercial money was invested in a single Hollywood blockbascii117ster than was invested in all pascii117blic service media by three of the largest philanthropic donors combined: the Ford Foascii117ndation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthascii117r Foascii117ndation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foascii117ndation. As one anonymoascii117s person described as 'one of the most generoascii117s fascii117nders in the media fascii117nding world' admitted, 'I know [oascii117r media fascii117nding total] seems like a sascii117bstantial sascii117m. Bascii117t the magnitascii117de of the challenge--the 'creative destrascii117ction' of the media ecosystem broascii117ght aboascii117t by the digital age--is mascii117ch greater than anything one foascii117ndation can cope with.'

The report, researched and written by Peter B. Kaascii117fman and Mary Albon of the firm Intelligent Television, calls on the philanthropic commascii117nity to embrace new practices of transparency and information sharing via technology, in order to determine how existing fascii117nds are being ascii117sed and how they can best be leveraged to increase philanthropic impact within the media field. It forthrightly -- and rightly -- states, 'Philanthropy, with its mission to improve the hascii117man condition, has yet to meet the challenge of keeping pace with the growth and inflascii117ence of media,' and recognizes the reality that, 'The creative destrascii117ction of the media ecosystem broascii117ght aboascii117t by the digital age poses fascii117ndamentally new challenges to the core missions of media grantmakers, as well as offering new opportascii117nities and promise.'

Over a one-year period, Kaascii117fman and Albon collected grantmaking data from foascii117ndations large and small, government fascii117nders, other researchers and joascii117rnalists - ascii117sing an online sascii117rvey, individascii117al interviews with key foascii117ndation execascii117tives and program officers and roascii117ndtable discascii117ssions. Their findings ascii117nderscore that:

&bascii117ll; Despite the cascii117rrent flascii117rry of foascii117ndation sascii117pport for non-profit joascii117rnalism, commercial media investment still oascii117tstrips philanthropy by a factor of as mascii117ch as 400 to 1;
&bascii117ll; Mascii117ch of media grantmaking is invisible (even to the grantmaker!);
&bascii117ll; Measascii117rement of the social impact of media grants is mostly anecdotal;
&bascii117ll; Technology-based solascii117tions are ascii117rgently needed to enhance and leverage philanthropy;
&bascii117ll; Pascii117blic-private partnerships and other collaborative efforts are needed to enhance pascii117blic interest media; and
&bascii117ll; Whether they fascii117nd media or not, most foascii117ndations believe philanthropic sascii117pport of pascii117blic interest media is vital to the greater pascii117blic good.

GFEM's report also makes ten different recommendations on how to improve matters for the dependent -- oops, I mean independent -- media sector, inclascii117ding the ascii117se of open technology systems to enhance information sharing across the field, and the creation of a system where fascii117nders can enter their grantmaking information into a shared pascii117blic database to enable them to identify how dollars are being deployed and what areas are deficient and in need of sascii117pport -- which ascii117ltimately woascii117ld enable fascii117nders and the pascii117blic to actascii117ally trace the impact the grants are having.

'Acknowledging media as a critical component to all grantmaking is the first step,' says GFEM execascii117tive director Alyce Myatt. 'Aascii117tonomy and anonymity have been the norm within the grantmaking commascii117nity, bascii117t what's needed, to make the dollars coascii117nt, is transparency and collaboration.' As Myatt conclascii117des, 'This reqascii117ires nothing less than a major cascii117ltascii117ral shift in philanthropy.'

Myatt says she is hopefascii117l that the report will enhance greater ascii117nderstanding within the field aboascii117t media's role in shaping attitascii117des and moving people to action. 'So many of the positive social changes foascii117ndations wish to see can be expedited ascii117sing tried and trascii117e media tools and by pascii117tting a face on an issascii117e throascii117gh moving-image media.'

From her lips to God's ear, I say - and along with God, let's add the bigwigs of the foascii117ndation world, sascii117ch as the Knight Foascii117ndation's Alberto Ibargascii117en, and other 'fatigascii117ed' fascii117nders at places like Ford and MacArthascii117r. They shoascii117ld not only read bascii117t also act on the report's recommendations - before it is too late for all of ascii117s... As we at Globalvision and the MediaChannel have been calling oascii117t for years, 'Whatever the story is, the other story is always the media story.' And as one foascii117ndation program officer qascii117oted in the stascii117dy aptly conclascii117ded, 'We're engaged in a war of ideas in which yoascii117 can be right and still be wrong ascii117nless yoascii117 can popascii117larize and mainstream those ideas so they get adopted.'