Journalism has played an important role in our democracy since our country’s founding nearly 250 years ago. Our free press is that “great bulwark of liberty,” as George Mason put it in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, drafted that same 1776. Journalism helps the public hold the powerful accountable, and when executed well, it helps the public make well-informed decisions and our communities thrive.
At a time when philanthropy is paying increased attention to the role of local journalism in civic discourse, this report — “Philanthropy and Local Opinion Journalism: A Civic Opportunity”— outlines how local media are working with funders and other donors to re-envision and expand the voices in one local “agora,” the local media opinion section.
More specifically, this report is an introduction to two trends:
- Local opinion and commentary sections are reinventing themselves for today’s needs. The image of a standard opinion page, the same as it was decades ago, does not speak to the innovation underway in big and small ways across the country.
- While much philanthropic funding for journalism focuses on increasing reporters or the amount and quality of news reporting, grants and donations have also supported experiments that advance this reimagining of local opinion. Local media have found ways to partner with philanthropy or take donations to fund opinion editor positions, enable series on pressing local issues and from more diverse voices, and equip more residents to share their voices on the topics that matter to them.
The insights from Kevin Loker, SNF Agora Visiting Fellow for 2023-2024 and a senior director at the American Press Institute, pull from a March 2024 convening of opinion editors, researchers, and philanthropists at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., plus other related work. The report ends with implications and recommendations for academic researchers, philanthropists interested in the health of U.S. democracy, and news leaders themselves.