Funders Briefing: Can Funding Media Energize Democracy?

Public sentiment on a range of issues—from education to the criminal justice system, immigration to healthcare, the environment to poverty—is shaped by what is heard and seen in the media. But even as the number of media outlets increases in the United States, owernship is becoming ever more concentrated in the hands of a few corporations—limiting the viewpoints available to Americans.

In spite of this trend, there are efforts to counterbalance the enormous influence of mainstream media and to amplify voices that would otherwise go unheard. Donors and funders across the country are supporting independent media production, innovative distribution channels, and organized efforts to reform media policy.

At a funders briefing held at The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on December 10, 2003—co-hosted by the Open Society Institute, the Women Donors Network, Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media, Northern California Grantmakers, Tides Foundation, and the Calvert Social Investment Foundation—panelists and attending guests engaged in a lively discussion about strategies for funding independent media and media policy reform.