Article (Repost): Corporate news curated our dystopian reality. Funders must support an alternative

“Any philanthropic funder serious about turning our current situation around has to invest as much as possible in community media infrastructure. Nothing else will change without it. The political right knows this, which is why conservative billionaires are investing in major media corporations. Meanwhile, progressive funders paint nonprofit newsrooms’ reliance on foundation funding as a problem.”

In an article published in The Objective, our Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund Program Director Alicai Bell and External Visibility Strategist Brittaney Carter explore how local BIPOC media newsrooms go beyond keeping communities informed, providing direct economic relief and legal resources to help folks navigate a rapidly changing sociopolitical landscape. 

Read: Corporate news curated our dystopian reality. Funders must support an alternative.

These newsrooms are also rebuilding the public trust that national news has increasingly lost. While many large, traditional media outlets have shifted their allegiances alongside changing political winds, local BIPOC newsrooms have remained steadfast in their commitment to the communities they serve, doubling down on coverage that reflects their needs and lived experiences. In turn, their commitment not only strengthens engagement for the newsroom but also fosters greater civic engagement and participation in our democratic institutions. 

The Objective is a grantee partner of the REJ Fund, which has invested more than $25 million in over 90 local BIPOC newsrooms since its inception in 2019. Borealis’ new report, Beyond the Grant: Rebuilding the Economics of Multiracial News Media, distills five years of the Fund’s learnings practice, documents what works, and charts a concrete investment path for what comes next. Learn more about this research, or how you can partner with Borealis Philanthropy to strengthen local news ecosystems here.