The Granite State News Collaborative is one of three collaboratives across the country to receive up to $100,000 each year, for the next two years from The Knight Foundation.
This money will go towards operation expenses, reporting, travel, engagement and impact tracking of an overarching topic chosen by The Collaborative media members beginning in 2020, according to Melanie Plenda, director of the GSNC.
" This grant is an incredible opportunity for our Collaborative to better inform our audiences, but to do so in new, bold and innovative ways,” Plenda said. “We are already thinking big and the prospect of all that is possible now has been a jolt of adrenaline to an already excited and invested group of partners."
Most of the funding for Granite State News Collaborative comes from the Solutions Journalism Network, which administers the Knight Foundation grant and provides training and technical assistance to the Collaborative.
“The funding is a reflection of the great work the Collaborative is doing in the state and its ability to grow its members. The Solutions Journalism Network believes in the GSNC’s vision,” says Leah Todd, New England manager of the Solutions Journalism Network.
Last year, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced it would double its investment in strengthening journalism to $300 million over five years, with a focus on building the future of local news and information, which are essential for democracy to function.
Building on Knight’s previous work to address the rapid spread of misinformation and promote accurate news, other investments will support news literacy initiatives, community engagement, and tools that help people become better consumers of news. This included $5 million to the Solutions Journalism Network to expand a model that advances community engagement and civic dialogue to produce rigorous reporting that highlights solutions, rather than problems.
Solutions Journalism Network while supportive of the Collaborative does not have any editorial control over what is produced by the GSNC.
“Solutions Journalism Network, in all of our relationships, acts as the iron curtain between the funders and the news organizations. SJN has no influence over the news product,” Todd says.
For more information about SJN, please visit https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/