The Pivot Fund Pod: Recent Episodes
The Pivot Fund
The Pivot Fund holds conversations that disrupt journalism and philanthropy. These conversations center on BIPOC-led community news organizations and how they're funded, developed and trained.
Economists are forecasting a “mild” recession in 2023. That’s driven by inflation, higher interest rates, and a tight labor market. What can news publishers and entrepreneurs do to prepare for an economic downturn?
Listen for an assessment of the current economic climate for journalism and advice on how small and bootstrapped newsrooms can survive a recession.
Panelists included:
- Glenn Burkins — Founder and Publisher of QCityMetro.com in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Anita Li — Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Green Line in Toronto, Canada
- Justin Rushing — Director of Growth and Partnerships at inewsource.org in San Diego, California
Zuri Berry, the principal producer and owner of ZMC Podcasts, moderated this discussion.
This conversation was sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
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The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit https://thepivotfund.org.
What does it mean to be Black media? And how can media that targets Black audiences be culturally competent?
The Pivot Fund and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press hosted this conversation on Feb. 23, 2022, about Black media ownership and the support systems they need to be successful and serve the Black community.
Tracie Powell, The Pivot Fund's CEO, moderated the discussion with Kamesha Laurry, an attorney and fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Panelists included:
- Joseph A. Torres, co-author of "News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media"
- Sara Lomax-Reese, co-founder of URL Media and president and CEO of WURD Radio
- Cheryl Thompson-Morton, director of the Black Media Initiative at the Center for Community Media at City University of New York
- Hiram Jackson, the CEO of Real Times Media
Resources:
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press hotline: 1-800-336-4243.
- rcfp.org
The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting.
For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit thepivotfund.org.
Dr. Marisela Martinez-Cola, professor of sociology at Morehouse College, and Meena Thiruvengadam, an audience development consultant and former global head of audience engagement for Bloomberg, discuss the demographic changes currently underway in the South and how publishers can connect with new Black, Brown, and Asian community members.
The conversation was hosted by The Pivot Fund on September 21, 2021, and sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Martinez-Cola and Thiruvendgadam were joined by Sonny “Messiah” Jiles, the publisher of the Houston Defender, and Cierra Hinton, the executive director and publisher of Scalawag magazine.
S. Mitra Kalita, the publisher of Epicenter-NYC, talks about leaving behind a high-profile job at CNN and a guaranteed paycheck to launch her own brand.
Kalita joined The Pivot Fund on Oct. 27, 2021, to discuss how she’s part of the movement to reimagine community-centered journalism and how Epicenter-NYC grew newsletters into an empire.
This conversation is co-moderated by The Pivot Fund's chief executive officer Tracie Powell and Liz Alarcón, the founder and executive director of Pulso, a nonprofit media start-up that shares news, history, and culture stories by and for Latinos.
Board development might be one of the driest topics of conversation when it comes to entrepreneurship. It's also one of the hardest things to do, especially in the journalism business, where many publishers want to recruit people who are in the industry and have a working knowledge about news media and the ethics that govern it. However, despite its lack of appeal, building a strong board of directors is critical to a news outlet's success and sustainability.
That's why The Pivot Fund hosted an important conversation about board development with BoardSource affiliate and nonprofit consultant Glenda Hicks and Josué Rojas, an artist and former publisher of El Tecolote, the longest-running bilingual newspaper in California. Rojas also serves on the advisory board for El Tímpano.
More than $2.7 billion has been invested in the journalism ecosystem. That influx of cash has led many news outlets to seek development staff for the first time. But hiring development staff isn’t easy. These are professionals who are in demand but short in supply. It takes special expertise to raise money for journalistic institutions. And for many news outlets, it might not be necessary or the right time to hire development staff.
The Pivot Fund hosted a special panel discussion about grants and funding focused on helping independent, BIPOC-led news outlets answer these very questions. Including at what point they’ll need to hire development staff and where to find them, how much organizations can expect to pay, and alternatives to hiring a full-time development director.
Panelists included:
- Lolly Bowean — Media & Storytelling Program Officer for The Field Foundation
- Susan Gluck Pappajohn — Management Consultant with Phillips Oppenheim
- Julia Howell Barros — Nonprofit consultant
- Kaylan Somerville — Founder of Blue Umbrella Fundraising
Mazin Sidahmed, co-founder and senior reporter for Documented, a hyper-local community new outlet that covers immigrant communities in New York City, moderated the discussion.
This conversation was sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.