MLK50: Justice Through Journalism has been awarded a five-year, $500,000 grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to improve its sustainability and broaden its reach through audience engagement, major donor cultivation and revenue diversification efforts.
Knight Foundation focuses its work and grantmaking in 26 communities in the U.S., with programs in communities (“cities where the Knight brothers once published newspapers”), arts, learning and impact, and journalism. Through the latter, it seeks to “champion the First Amendment and support journalism excellence in the digital age,” guided by the belief that “an informed citizenry is essential for representative democracy to function effectively.”
While MLK50 doesn’t reside in one of the communities Knight awards its grants, our organization has benefited from the foundation’s support in other ways.
“MLK50 has been a pioneer in doing whatever it takes to start, sustain, and grow a modern community newsroom. From LION’s Sustainability Audits to ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network to NewsMatch and the News Revenue Hub’s services, MLK50 has taken advantage of every opportunity to build a business model that enables it to deliver impactful journalism for its audience,” said Duc Luu, director of sustainability initiatives of the journalism program at Knight Foundation. “Knight is proud to support an organization that has been able to grow and support a staff that numbers in the double digits and is a model for how other newsrooms can leverage industry resources to achieve the same kinds of successes.”
Instead of being part of its traditional portfolio, MLK50 is a part of Knight Foundation’s investment in Press Forward, a $500 million nationwide “movement to reimagine local news,” particularly through its aligned grantmaking strategy. The grant will allow MLK50 to develop and lean into a neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach, including building a network of community members to become partners in disseminating information, among other audience engagement strategies.
“We don’t want to tell our readers what’s happening to them but what can happen with them — there’s power in collective action. That’s why we’ve set measurable goals around engagement; we’ve already literally printed and handed out our journalism at times. Now, we are developing more opportunities to go directly into neighborhoods and ask folks what stories they want told about where they live. By having that direct contact with our community, we’re moving toward our mission to not just be people-centered, but people-led,” said executive editor Adrienne Johnson Martin.
Funds will also support MLK50’s efforts to develop a more sustainable business model that includes increased revenue from major donors and to explore revenue opportunities from events and sponsorships.
“MLK50 has already benefited immensely from Knight’s deep investment in local news, so we’re excited to be receiving direct support from such a philanthropic powerhouse,” said Wendi C. Thomas, founding editor and publisher.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers. Learn more at kf.org and follow @knightfdn on social media.
This story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors.