In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, Tracie Powell, founder and CEO of The Pivot Fund, speaks with Myers Reece, an Asian American journalist and leader of Underscore Native News, a newsroom focused on indigenous-centered journalism in the Pacific Northwest. They discuss the challenges and insights of leading a newsroom dedicated to a community different from one's own, building trust and the importance of representation in media.

Reece shares his experiences in navigating his role with humility, his strategies for building community trust and the organizational growth through dedicated work and strategic funding. The conversation delves into the dynamics of leadership, engagement, accountability and the future vision for Underscore Native News.

This conversation is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 

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 www.thepivotfund.org. 

In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, CEO Tracie Powell talks with media entrepreneur and independent journalist Georgia Fort about her successful news outlet BLCK Press, her nonprofit work at the Center for Broadcast Journalism to grow the next generation of journalists, and how she is thinking strategically about trust and the media landscape of the future from her home state of Minnesota. 

This conversation is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 

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 www.thepivotfund.org. 

In a recent Word on the Street interview, with Cumulus Media, CEO Tracie Powell shared how The Pivot Fund supports community-rooted newsrooms.

It’s not just about funding—it’s about building real, lasting infrastructure.

She spotlighted partners like Courier Eco Latino and BeeTV, each transforming access and revenue in their communities.

Our approach is simple: trust media founders to lead. You know your audience. You know what works.

We're here to back your vision—every step of the way.

This NotebookLM podcast episode discusses strategies for nonprofit media organizations to engage their boards of directors in fundraising. The conversation features the Pivot Fund's board chair and two nonprofit CEOs who share their experiences and tactics for recruiting diverse board members, setting clear expectations, and fostering strong communication. They emphasize the importance of storytelling, leveraging board members' networks, and creating a mutually beneficial board experience. The panelists also address challenges, such as underperforming board members and navigating economic downturns. Finally, they offer practical advice on managing board recruitment and fundraising processes.

In this episode, produced with Notebook LM, our AI hosts explore Tracie Powell and The Pivot Fund's research on the changing American news landscape by focusing on the state of Michigan.

Increasingly, The Pivot Fund finds citizens are moving away from traditional news sources and instead seeking reliable information from independent outlets. Powell's research with The Pivot Fund reveals a rising demand for local, trusted news providers. Michigan's independent news sources, such as El Central, Planet Detroit, and Flint Beat, play an instrumental role in providing news that resonates on a local level, often overlooked by larger media outlets.

The Pivot Fund's findings extend to the broader Midwest landscape. Powell contends that local journalism's future hinges on smaller and independent news sources.

Reference links:

• Kalamazoo’s Independent News Source – NowKalamazoo
• Detroit news, Michigan environmental news, information | Planet Detroit
• Flint Beat | Your Community, Your Voice, Your News - Flint Beat
• News Platform Fact Sheet, 2024 | Pew Research Center
• EL CENTRAL Hispanic News

In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, Tracie Powell leads a discussion on the pivotal role of philanthropic intermediaries in supporting local and independent news outlets.
 
Powell is joined by Carolyn Powers of Internews and the Listening Post Collective, Luella Brien of Four Points Press, and Saba Long of Atlanta Civic Circle. They share their experiences, challenges, and the critical need for more direct funding and strategic support in the journalism ecosystem.
 
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 www.thepivotfund.org.

Kaylan Martin, principal of Blue Umbrella Strategies, and Kimberly Griffin, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Mississippi Free Press, joined The Pivot Fund's Kimberly Spencer for an insightful webinar on mastering donor stewardship strategies. The trio delved into the art of donor engagement with a focus on hyperlocal newsrooms and fundraisers of color, both facing unique challenges.

Discover practical insights and best practices for nurturing donor relationships, from crafting effective stewardship plans to creating meaningful in-person experiences. Learn how to authentically build rapport by celebrating your donors' wins.

During the Q&A session, our panelists shared how they would efficiently allocate just a few hours each week, their stance on formality versus informality with new donors, how to tactfully share setbacks with donors and more.

To view the full Pivot Publisher Series, visit YouTube.com/@ThePivotFund.

This series is supported by the Knight Foundation.

The latest Pivot Publisher Series webinar explored the question, “Is your newsroom ripe for revenue?” The panelists described a deep connection with their audience as the key to both editorial and business success, the importance of diverse revenue streams and the significance of relationships.

Panelists: 

• Todd Stauffer, Author,  Digital Revenue Playbook, Executive Director, Association of Alternative Newsmedia
• Penda Howell, Co-Founder, Publisher, CEO, New Jersey Urban News, Founder and CEO, PCH Multi-Cultural Media Buying
• Elizabeth Galarza, CEO and Publisher, Pasa La Voz Noticias

Moderator:

• Justin Rushing, Chief Revenue Officer, The Pivot Fund

Amid all the hand-wringing over Sinclair Broadcasting chairman David Smith buying the Baltimore Sun, hardly anyone mentioned that he did it in partnership with Black businessman Armstrong Williams, who is now the first African American to own a major metropolitan newspaper since Bob Maynard bought and revitalized the Oakland Tribune four decades ago.

Like Smith, Williams is a conservative, but in an interview, he describes newsroom independence as a core value and pledges that Sun reporters will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead – even if they lead to the disparagement of Donald Trump.

Tune in for a compelling conversation between Armstrong and Tracie Powell, The Pivot Fund founder and CEO.

About The Pivot Fund

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. 

Who do you need on your team? The hiring process can be daunting, and making the right choices about who to bring on board and when can have a major impact on your newsroom. Zuri Berry, The Baltimore Banner's digital strategy editor; Lisa Snowden, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Beat; Susan Gluck Pappajohn, a talent and organizational strategy consultant; and Madeleine Bair, founding director of El Tímpano, shared their experience and approach to growing their teams, tips to secure funding, and more. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Introducing ‘Leavers’: results from a survey of 101 former journalists of color: https://source.opennews.org/articles/introducing-leavers-results-survey/
• Toward equitable models of journalism sustainability: https://www.eltimpano.org/inside-el-timpano/toward-equitable-models-of-journalism-sustainability/
• Airtable: https://www.airtable.com
• Lion Publishers: https://www.lionpublishers.com
• Institute for Nonprofit News (INN): https://inn.org

This conversation was sponsored by the 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 thepivotfund.org.