Media

Ford Foundation Grants $2 Million To Major Journalism Magazines

Funding Aims To Strengthen Critical Examination Of U.S. News Media

New York, N.Y., June 5, 2000 As part of a continuing effort to promote quality journalism, the Ford Foundation has made grants of $1 million each to the Columbia Journalism Review and American Journalism Review, the nation's leading nonprofit journals dedicated to examining and critiquing the performance of the news media.

Both magazines are published by prominent journalism schools. The Columbia Journalism Review has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York since 1961. The Foundation's grant will help the magazine, which is published six times a year, to strengthen its editorial, business and circulation departments. A portion of the grant will be used to underwrite a new editorial feature, "Voices," which serves as a forum for ideas and perspectives about journalism.

The American Journalism Review, which was founded in 1977 as a for-profit magazine, was acquired by the University of Maryland's College of Journalism in 1987. The Foundation's grant will enable the magazine, which is published 10 times a year, to build editorial content and increase circulation and advertising. A portion of the grant will underwrite a series of in-depth articles on the challenges to journalism in the new media environment.

"The public relies heavily on journalists to provide the news and information that they need to make decisions in a democracy," said Jon Funabiki, a program officer with the Foundation's Media, Arts, and Culture unit in announcing the grant. "Just as journalists serve as 'watchdogs' of government and others, CJR and AJR keep a critical eye on the news media. They help to promote better journalism."

CJR and AJR are read widely by journalists, communications scholars, public relations executives and others. They not only report on the changes and challenges faced by reporters, but also the controversies and scandals that can damage the reputations of individual journalists and their news organizations. By providing a forum for journalists and other experts to debate journalistic practices, the magazines help journalists to define professional standards and values.

"This support is a strong endorsement for maintaining multiple critical voices in a changing media world," said David Laventhol, Columbia Journalism Review's publisher and editorial director. "We appreciate the confidence in our ability to produce a high quality magazine that is both valuable and useful."

Because of their nonprofit status, CJR and AJR rely on foundation funding to help offset production costs. Previously, both magazines received Ford Foundation grants to develop new business plans. The grants are part of a Foundation initiative designed to help journalists and the public at large assess and understand the impact that the news media have on society.

"The Ford Foundation's past support has played a major role in helping AJR survive and thrive," said Rem Rieder, American Journalism Review's editor and senior vice president. "This new grant will enable us to continue to increase the size of each issue of AJR, allowing us to explore more topics and to do so in greater depth. This is a major step forward for the magazine."

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The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.