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In this episode we talk to Charles Keidan, editor of Alliance magazine, about why we need philanthropy journalism and what some of the key issues are in civil society right now. Including:

• Why is it important to have journalists focussing on philanthropy?
• Is coverage of philanthropy too focussed on the Global North (especially the US)? Is it possible to rebalance this?
• Is it possible to bring philanthropy journalism to a mainstream audience on a regular basis? If so, how does this need to be done?
• Could increased philanthropic funding of news media actually undermine journalism’s ability to hold philanthropy itself to account? (E.g. if outlets self-censor to avoid upsetting existing or potential funders).
• What are the key trends in philanthropy we should be watching?
•  Is climate change now seen by philanthropists and funders as something that concerns them regardless of their charitable mission? 
• Is growing scrutiny of where philanthropic wealth has come from a good thing?
• What should we make of concerns about “tainted donations”?
• Is it a challenge to get nuanced or balanced discussion about philanthropy issues in an increasingly polarised environment?
• Should philanthropy publications try to give space to as wide a range of views as possible, or is there a risk of "both-sidesing" issues?

Related Links

• Alliance Magazine website
• Charles's story in the Sunday Times (with Gabriel Pogrund and Katherine Faulkner) "Prince Charles accepted €1m cash in suitcase from sheikh" (Paywall £)
• The Alliance magazine article about the same story
• The recent opinion piece for Alliance by Simon Sommer, "It’s time to ditch the mantra of trust-based philanthropy"
• Charles's editorial response to that piece, "Is the trust-based philanthropy bubble about to burst?"
• Rhod's comment piece for the Beacon Collaborative, "Can we agree to disagree when it comes to philanthropy?"
• Philanthropisms episode with Teddy Schleifer
• Rhod's 2018 piece for Alliance (with Fran Yeoman) "Philanthropy should fund the media for its own sake"