Growth in Foundation Support for Media in the United States

Abstract

Over the last decade, media-the means by which we communicate-has evolved significantly. Television, radio, and print newspapers and magazines were once the primary means to obtain news and information. However, the rapid evolution of the Internet and mobile technology has generated new media platforms and expanded the universe of information creators, producers, and distributors. Media information once flowed in one direction, but the expansion of the field has made the movement more diffuse. With this changing landscape as a backdrop, the Foundation Center, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation, and in collaboration with Media Impact Funders, GuideStar, and the Ford Foundation, sought to provide a fuller picture of media-related grantmaking by U.S. foundations. Tracking investments from 2009 to 2011, the data reveals that foundations are increasingly supporting media-related work across multiple areas. At the same time, they are tapping into larger trends, with investments in new media growing at a faster pace than traditional media investments. However, growth in grantmaking across the spectrum of media is inconsistent-with growth in public broadcasting falling behind growth in investments in other areas. Recent data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project capture these trends: Over two-thirds of the U.S. adult population access local news through a mix of traditional, Web-based, and mobile media 2 72 percent of U.S. adults on the Internet use social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter 3 80 percent of U.S. adults have a broadband connection at home and/or own a smartphone 4 With this changing landscape as a backdrop, the Foundation Center, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation, and in collaboration with Media Impact Funders, GuideStar, and the Ford Foundation, sought to provide a fuller picture of media-related grantmaking by U.S. foundations.