Philanthropic spending has substantially increased in journalism over the last five years, especially publications that serve marginalised communities in the US.  

That’s according to a new report published by NORC at the University of Chicago, one of the largest independent social research organisations in the United States, who have recommended journalists need to tighten ethical rules that govern the new spending.

More than half of funders surveyed said they have increased their journalism grants at a time when advertising has collapsed, particularly for local news.  

“We see many more people — and that includes people who work in philanthropy — being interested in a stronger civic infrastructure by funding local news,” said Sarah Alvarez, founder of Outlier Media, a Detroit-based news source that started in 2016 and now has 16 employees. 

Because philanthropy has become a relatively new area of giving, estimating how much philanthropy funds journalism is difficult. 

A report by Boston Consulting Group estimated $150 million per year is given to nonprofit news outlets. The same report said that industry needs up to $1.75 billion. 

A major drive with a goal of raising $1 billion for local news is expected to be announced this fall, the NORC report said. 

“It’s significantly more important than it was eight years ago,” said Tom Rosenstiel, professior at University of Maryland professor and co-author of the report. “There are more nonprofit news organisations, and a lot of for-profit news organisations now get charitable donations, including The New York Times.” 

Almost six out of 10 funders say they have made grants to outlets primarily focused on minority communities, partly spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement along with a recognition that news organisations have covered wealthier areas because that was what most interested their advertisers. 

Despite the rise in philanthropic funding, news outlets have yet to develop proper public guidelines on what type of money they will accept and what is disclosed to the public. 

72 per cent of for-profit outlets don’t have written policies, according to the survey. 

In many cases, “they hadn’t really thought about it,” said Rosenstiel. “They were just trying to get money.” 

Policies are vital for readers and consumers to understand that publications are not accepting money from donors who are motivated by editorial agendas or specific stories being published, he added. 

A total of 129 organisations that fund journalism responded to this year’s survey, compared to 76 in 2015. The University of Chicago worked with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Media Impact Funders for the study.

Shafi Musaddique is a news editor at Alliance magazine.

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