Commercial Sector Dwarfs Philanthropy in Media Support

Despite the pervasiveness of media, the amount of philanthropic dollars in support of public interest media remains minuscule, suggesting that commercial interests continue to dominate media. Within a 12-month period, more commercial money was invested in a single Hollywood blockbuster than was invested in all public service media by three of the largest philanthropic donors combined: the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. A new survey and ensuing report calls on philanthropists to embrace a practice of transparency and information sharing via technology, to determine how existing funds are being used and how they can best be leveraged to increase philanthropic impact within the media field.