Journalism

Broadcast, digital, and print journalism that accurately reflects the lived experience of communities of color can lead to increased civic engagement (e.g. voter turnout, everyday people running for office), minimize divisive narratives that foster polarization, and provide live-saving resources that build up our communities. Major news organizations’ newsrooms, in Philadelphia and beyond, are primarily led by and staffed with white journalists, with a disproportionate number of them from elite universities. 

These media organizations, because of their lack of diversity, select and report stories that do not reflect or dignify the lived experiences of communities of color. This creates a series of problems for the newsrooms and their communities such as perpetuating harmful stereotypes, loss of trust, an unwillingness to pay for the news which weakens the news business, and communities disengaging from civic life. 

IPMF imagines nuanced and solutions-oriented journalistic coverage that leads to improved policy making, reduced harm to communities of color, and fosters meaningful civic dialogue. The Journalism program aims to build resilient systems for communicating and sharing information by supporting the training of diverse newsroom leadership, community-connected news and information, and journalism that addresses systemic inequities and systems that need to change.