University budgets these days are not a place of hope. Journalism programs often can’t rely on the administration to provide what students need to succeed.
Students need technology at their fingertips. They need classes that allow them to produce real journalism for publication. They need an updated curriculum that focuses on new ways to gather information, tell stories and connect with the audience. They need to be armed with skills to combat burnout and handle trauma. They need meaningful, paid internships.
And for that to become a reality, philanthropy must invest.
Major donors, foundations, donor-advised funds and others are stepping up and supporting newsrooms of all shapes and sizes, stabilizing public media, tackling infrastructure challenges and more.
But these are mostly investments focused on the next one to five years.
We need investments that are designed to flourish 10 to 40 years down the road.
Mike Canan served as the senior director of Journalism Strategies for the Scripps Howard Fund/Foundation since September 2021. He returns to the newsroom this month as chief content officer with nonprofit newsroom Signal Ohio.
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