Non-Profit News Sustainability and "Why News Matters"

Fast and furious action on the nonprofit news tax-exempt status/financial sustainability front. For your consideration:

• The Council on Foundations is forming a Nonprofit Media Working Group that by the end of the year will recommend what tax changes or clarifications could better enable such news organizations to meet the information needs of communities. The working group, spearheaded by Eric Newton of the Knight Foundation and chaired by Steve Waldman of the Columbia Journalism School, will set its course during a March 1 teleconference.  I am honored to serve as a member of the group.
• I also participated in a recent Patterson Foundation-hosted conference in Sarasota, Fla., on financial sustainability for nonprofit journalism start-ups.  Patterson’s Janet Coats and Kevin Davis, executive director of the Investigative News Network, led the discussion among foundation leaders, nonprofit news publishers and media consultants. Coats’ report on the proceedings hits the high notes.
• Obituaries on the dearly departed Chicago News Cooperative (CNC) cited the lack of fundraising traction and the inability to snare IRS tax-exempt status. It’s probably best to allow what the Chicago Tribune hailed as “a bold experiment at supplementing or supplanting daily newspapers” to rest in peace. Good people...good idea…partnership with the New York Times…but things just didn’t work out. Others will continue to fight on in hopes of gathering foundation grants, affluent local family charitable funds, content partners, dues-paying members and paid subscribers. And you may want to check out the Columbia Journalism Review's update on the CNC.
• The McCormick Foundation, a long-time supporter of nonprofit journalism news organizations, will be part of the solution. We continue to fund groups such as The Chicago Reporter, INN, the Center for Public Integrity and university-based news initiatives at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois. And we’ll see what role the tax-exempt journalism model plays in our Why News Matters grantmaking initiative.

By our reckoning, nearly 1,000 interested parties have locked into McCormick Media Matters, watched the Why News Matters video or checked out the Request for Ideas. The deadline for submitting ideas is April 2, 2012.  Here are some pertinent links:

• Find out more about the Why News Matters initiative and request for ideas at http://www.whynewsmatters.org/.
• Download the complete “printer friendly” version of the Why News Matters Request for Ideas and application packet. 
• Check out the Frequently Asked Questions. 
• Share the Why News Matters video with colleagues and friends. 
• Review a list of news literacy resources. 
• Sign-up for an upcoming webinar or in-person information session on March 9, 16 and 27, at 3pm CT. 

Please help us spread the word via social media.

• Have a project idea for news literacy? Apply for a @McCormickJrnlsm Why News Matters grant fb.me/GfB7j9ls
• $6 million in news literacy grants available. Apply now for @McCormickJrnlsm Why News Matters grant fb.me/GfB7j9ls

--Clark Bell, Journalism Program Director

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Chicago High School Teachers: Apply Now to Join the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative

A McCormick Foundation-funded project can help your high school reporters create a comprehensive media package that will address and critically analyze a topic of great interest to teen readers.Teachers will select the topic prior to the 2012-13 school year and student journalists will produce a print, broadcast or digital report that analyzes the topic and how it impacts their audiences.

The project is open to 12 Chicago-area high schools. Teachers will attend an in-service prior to the 2012-2013 school year to learn how to apply news literacy to their journalism curriculum. Regular interaction between the student journalists is included in this program.

During this one-year collaboration, journalism and media advisers from across the city and suburbs – print and broadcast alike - will decide on the timely topic to cover. Participating journalism programs will go about their usual reporting, but also produce a special report on the topic chosen by the group. Stories will be due in early 2013 and compiled on a dedicated website and disseminated to mainstream news organization partners.


This project is coordinated by the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative, which supports and promotes journalism education through advocacy, outreach and resources. Letters of application should be sent to the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative at MidwestJEI@gmail.com by April 30, 2012.


Download the flyer and application instructions>

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2012 Chicago Journalism, Art and Media (C-JAM) Educator Technology Fund

The C-JAM fund isn't just an equipment grant, but an opportunity to receive the support, training, and knowledge to engage youth in deeper and more thoughtful practices in media arts and journalism.


Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is pleased to announce the 2012 Chicago Journalism, Art and Media (C-JAM) Educator Equipment Fund. The goal of this fund, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program, is to help educators gain access to the technology they need to better integrate journalism and media making into learning. 

Educators will receive equipment packages as well as professional development and training to support their efforts. Potential applicants are educators who currently incorporate media production in their classrooms or in their youth programs or are highly motivated to get started.

More information about C-JAM, the Fund, and the Equipment Packages can be found in the attached flyer (PDF) or by visiting http://cjam.edc.org/.

To apply for the Equipment Fund, visit the C-JAM Equipment Fund Application:

http://cjam.edc.org/equipment_fund
Note that you will be asked to complete the application online.  It is recommended that you compile all the information necessary to apply before filling out the application as there is no way to save a draft.

Deadline to apply has been extended to March 30, 2012.

 Any questions about the fund or the application process can be directed to http://www.blogger.com/cjam@edc.org.  

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Announcing Why News Matters, A New Grantmaking Initiative

Today is the formal launch of our Why News Matters initiative. We are excited and curious about response to this new request for ideas (RFI), designed to enhance news literacy in Chicago. We expect to invest about $6 million over the next three years in Why News Matters grants. 

The initiative will build on the strong student and teacher training programs at the core of McCormick Foundation's news literacy funding since 2009. We now intend to expand news literacy training in more ways and engage broader audiences throughout the Chicago area.

News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and information sources. It enables citizens to become smarter consumers and creators of fact-based information. It helps them develop informed perspectives and the navigational skills to become effective citizens in a digitally connected society. News literacy programs also emphasize the importance of news and information, the value of reliable sources and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms.

The goal of this RFI is to significantly expand news literacy efforts throughout Chicago. We will solicit ideas and later fund a portfolio of high-impact projects.

Details about the RFI can be found on the Journalism Program section of the McCormick Foundation web site and on the Why News Matters section of the McCormick Media Matters blog.

Apply online through our online grant application system. Note: If you are a new user of the system, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If  you already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports). 

We also have included a list of 20 Frequently Asked Questions about the RFI. In addition, we will conduct one webinar and two in-person informational sessions for those interested in learning more about this new initiative. You must register to attend these informational sessions.

Depending on the yield of the RFI harvest (remember the April 2 deadline), we expect to invest about $2 million in 2013 in Why News Matters projects. In addition, we anticipate investing another $4 million in the following two years.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Clark Bell
Journalism Program Director

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Why News Matters: Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions 

1. Why is your application called a Request for Ideas (RFI), rather than a Request for Proposals?
At this time, we are asking for ideas rather than letters of inquiry or full proposals. To apply, you must fill out a brief application form on our application online system, providing a brief summary of your idea as well as information on your organization.

2. What is news literacy? 
News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and information sources. It enables citizens to become smarter consumers and creators of fact-based information. It helps them develop informed perspectives and the navigational skills to become effective citizens in a digitally connected society. News literacy programs also emphasize the importance of news and information, the value of reliable sources and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms.
News literacy can overlap with other instructional theories, including Digital Literacy, Information Literacy and Media Literacy. Each occupies and promotes different skills sets at the intersection of digital media and critical thinking. All have a role to play in news literacy.

3. How exactly is news literacy similar to—and different from—the other literacies (digital, information, media, etc.)? 
News literacy is the new kid on the block, but has a great deal of overlap with fields such as Civic Literacy, Digital Literacy, Information Literacy and Media Literacy, among others. Here are basic definitions and links to begin exploring:

Civic Literacy focuses on people’s participation in civic life, emphasizing their knowing how to stay informed, being aware of and exercising their rights, and understanding the implications of civic decisions. Resource:  Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Digital Literacy refers to people’s ability to locate and effectively analyze information using digital technology. Resource: Digital Literacy report by Common Sense Media.

Information Literacy focuses on people’s ability to locate, evaluate and effectively use information. Resource: American Library Association. 

Media Literacy is the ability access, analyze and create media as well as a framework for understanding the role of media in society. Resource: Media Literacy website for the California-based Center for Media Literacy.

4. How does the Why News Matters initiative fit into the Content, Audience and Rights framework?  
Why News Matters will not replace the Journalism Program’s current grantmaking framework of Content, Audience and Rights. Rather, it is intended to better focus the current framework and make it more effective in addressing News literacy needs in Chicago. Review our Grantmaking Guidelines to better understand the CAR grantmaking framework Most Why News Matters projects will fall under the Audience category of funding, while a few may fit within the Content and Rights categories.

5. Do I have to be a Chicago-based organization to apply?
No. While Chicago is the focus for the Why News Matters initiative, we will consider non-Chicago applicants that can make a strong case for how their proposed idea can impact a Chicago audience. This could mean partnering with a Chicago organization as part of your proposed work.

6. Do I have to be a non-profit to apply? 
No. Ideas can be submitted by 501c3 nonprofit organizations, as well as individuals and businesses partnering with tax-exempt organizations. If you are invited to submit a final proposal, you must select a fiscal agent that is a 501c3.

7. Our organization doesn’t have a background in journalism or news, but we really want to get into news literacy. Can I still apply? 
Yes. We encourage organizations (arts, theater, game design) to apply. We anticipate viable applications from organizations that demonstrate strong working partnerships with organizations that have expertise in journalism training and news literacy.

8. Can we re-apply with the same idea through the May 1 letter of inquiry process if our application is not selected for a Why News Matters grant?
Applying for the Why News Matters does not preclude you from being able to submit a separate grant request on May 1, but please do not submit the same idea twice.

9. What are the criteria that will be used to judge the applications? 
We are looking for creative ideas that address the goals of Why News Matters. As we review the proposals we will be looking at several criteria in evaluating proposals, including:

• Relevance of proposal to program priority areas
• Potential project impact
• Proposal originality
• Organization track record
• Ability to build on existing work and knowledge in news literacy
• Ability to connect proposal to McCormick Foundation priority areas

10. If I have a question about my application or my idea for Why News Matters, whom do I contact? 
Please e-mail your questions and inquiries to Aaron Smith, administrative officer, at ASmith@McCormickFoundation.org. The Journalism Program staff will review your question and get back to you by phone or e-mail.

Program staff will also be available to answer your questions at the following informational sessions and online Q&A events:

March 9, 2012, 3 pm CT 
Why News Matters Informational Webinar Featuring Journalism Program Director Clark Bell and Program Officers Mark Hallett and Janet Liao. Call in information: TBD
Click here to register now>

March 16, 2012, 3 pm CT 
Why News Matters Informational Session: Featuring Dean Miller, Director of Stony Brook's Center for News Literacy. Location: 205 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60601.
Click here to register now>

March 27, 2012, 3 pm CT
Why News Matters Informational Session:  Featuring Geanne Rosenberg, Baruch College. Location: 205 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60601.
Click here to register now>

11. When will I hear back about my application? What are the next steps? 
If your application is selected, we will contact you by the end of April to request a more detailed letter of inquiry. If you are not selected, you will be notified by letter or e-mail. By mid-June, a select group will be asked to submit full proposals. 

12. When will I receive funding if my project is selected? 
Grant winners will be notified in September 2012 and will receive their funding in January 2013.

13. Can I request multi-year funding?  What is the range of grant amounts being rewarded? 
We expect to invest about $2 million in 2013 in Why News Matters projects. In addition, we anticipate investing another $4 million in the following two years. A few grants will have budgets of more than $50,000, but most will be funded at less than $50,000 a year. In 2013, the majority of projects are likely to be one-year demonstration grants. A select group may be funded for two years or longer. We are in the final stages of developing a news literacy logic model that will shape Why News Matters as a multi-year initiative around tiered outcomes.

14. Can I submit more than one idea? 
Yes. We’ve kept the application form short and simple, and encourage you to share your viable ideas. Each idea should be submitted as a separate application.

15. How do I apply? 
To apply, fill out this brief application form on our online application system. Note: If you are a new user, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If you already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports).

16. What websites will help us learn about news literacy? 
Please visit our Why News Matters resources page for links to news literacy programs and research.

17. Are there additional roles that McCormick Foundation hopes groups will play to support the sector that are NOT laid out in the Request for Ideas? What are they?
The Journalism Program plans to support initiatives meant to add ”glue” to the work of all of the individual partners in this initiative. This might include evaluation work, convening Why News Matters partners and creating an online hub for information-sharing. We want to find ways to help the sum of our grantees’ work become bigger than the individual parts.

Questions from Current Grantees 
18. My grant expires at the end of the year and I want to apply to renew funding for my current program. Do I have to submit both a Why New Matters application by April 2 and a Letter of Inquiry by May 1? 
If your project is not primarily focused on the scope of Why News Matters, we recommend that you submit a letter of inquiry through our normal grantmaking process by May 1, 2012. If you wish to also quality for a Why News Matters grant, please submit a separate application by April 2.  In some situations, organizations seeking to renew grants may end up developing a proposal that addresses news literacy.

19. I’m a current grantee and our projects already encompass youth media, youth journalism and news literacy. Should I submit a Why News Matters application if I have an idea that is separate from my current program? 
If you wish to also qualify for a Why News Matters grant, please submit a separate application by April 2, 2012, If your project is not primarily focused on the scope of Why News Matters, we recommend that you submit a letter of inquiry through our normal grantmaking process by May 1, 2012.

20. We are a grantee of the Foundation in another area (i.e. Civics, Communities). Can we still apply to the Why News Matters initiative?
Yes, McCormick already partners with select organizations that meet the guidelines in more than one program, so certainly this is possible under the Why News Matters initiative.

Questions from Informational Sessions and Webinars

21. Many of you have asked us to elaborate on our evaluation process and requirements. 
We’re pleased to share our evaluation logic model to give you a better sense of our program goals and framework and how your ideas might align. We plan to develop more detailed evaluation metrics from our work with Why News Matters grantees.


22. How can news literacy be incorporated into an area like work-force training? 
News literacy is intertwined with media, digital and other literacies.
We feel there are synergies with these disciplines in citizenship, workforce development and workforce reentry programs. McCormick, for example, funds digital navigators at the Chicago Public Libraries. Much of this traffic comes from older people looking for jobs.  Another example: Financial literacy teachers better connect with students by illustrating curriculum with relevant current economic events. We want to know your ideas on how news literacy skills align with other learning skills.


23. You say you want to engage the community. What’s your take on the role of journalism in advocacy and community organizing? 
We are exploring this question now more than ever in the past. That said, we are firm believers in pure journalism skills.  We’re certainly looking at  different ways that people learn and engage, but the focus has to be on informing and stimulating citizen action through a news literacy lens.  


24. Do I have to create a separate user name and log-in for every application I submit? 
You may submit multiple applications using the same username and password. Each application you submit will be assigned a unique identification number to help you keep track of your applications. See below:

At any time, you can access and work on your application(s) by logging into your grant application account by logging-in from https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_1449. You can toggle between Submitted Applications and In Progress Applications by clicking on the “Show” drop down menu on the top right hand corner. 

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Imagine Your Day Without News

The McCormick Foundation Journalism Program partnered with a team of producers to create a video infographic that explains our definition of news literacy and our philosophy behind the Why News Matters initiative.

We encourage you to share this video and use it as a tool to help energize your colleagues, students, friends, family and others, to help make Chicago a city where hundreds of thousands of people – of all ages and backgrounds – are engaged in a variety of activities that enable them to access quality news, separate it from the noise and spin, and connect with the information they need to become more active in their communities. Suggested hashtags: #newsliteracy #journalism #whynewsmatters 


Learn more about the Why News Matters initiative: 

• Request for Ideas
• FAQs 
• Resources
• Informational Sessions

Video Credits

Produced by Carrie Porter

Animation by Micah C. Gardner

Music by Josh Moshier

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Why News Matters: Request for Ideas

Introduction
The Robert R. McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program is launching Why News Matters, a grantmaking program designed to enhance news literacy skills and programs in Chicago.The McCormick Foundation plans to invest as much as $6 million over the next three years in the Why News Matters initiative.

News literacy is the ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports and information sources. It enables citizens to become smarter consumers and creators of fact-based information. It helps them develop informed perspectives and the navigational skills to become effective citizens in a digitally connected society. News literacy programs also emphasize the importance of news and information, the value of reliable sources and appreciation of First Amendment freedoms.

The Why News Matters initiative will build on the strong news literacy youth and teacher training programs that have been the core of the McCormick Foundation’s journalism funding since 2009. Since then, we’ve learned more about young people and how they access news and information. But we also have much to learn. In addition to our youth work, we hope to expand the initiative to engage broader Chicago-area audiences.

Goal
The goal of this Request for Ideas is to significantly expand news literacy efforts throughout Chicago. We will solicit ideas and then fund a portfolio of high-impact projects. Organizations selected for funding will carry out multi-faceted approaches of expanding news literacy efforts throughout the Chicago area. We believe the Why News Matters initiative will yield a better informed and civically engaged citizenry.

Need
With the overwhelming flood of information, it’s harder than ever for consumers to distinguish news from noise. A 2010 Pew Research Center survey found that 70 percent of respondents feel overwhelmed by the amount of news and information from different sources, and 72 percent think most sources of news are biased.

A healthy 21^st Century democracy relies on informed citizens with the ability to access and analyze information. For example, preliminary research from Stony Brook University shows that students who have taken a news literacy course are more likely to register to vote and increase their exposure to news sources than students who have not taken the course.

We ask your assistance to help Chicagoans understand Why News Matters. Media organizations, high schools, universities, two-year colleges, community organizations, libraries and others all have a role to play. To learn more about our vision, view the video below.

Scope

The McCormick Foundation is looking for innovative ideas to extend our reach and impact in news literacy to Chicagoans of all ages and backgrounds. We are interested in supporting projects that address:

• Education: Integrate news literacy into public schools, after-school programs and community education settings. May include blending news literacy into Common Core classroom lessons.
• Training: Provide opportunities for Chicagoans to learn and teach others about news literacy. May include curriculum for adults and train-the-trainer workshops.
• Awareness & Engagement: Increase public understanding of news literacy principles. May include marketing campaigns, social media, web portals, apps, games, art programs and public service announcements.
• Research & Evaluation: Evaluate the impact of news literacy on student performance and civic engagement. May include program evaluation, design and implementation of assessment tools and other research on a sector-wide or project-level basis.

Why News Matters will not replace the Journalism Program’s current grantmaking framework of Content, Audience and Rights. Rather, it is intended to better focus the current framework and make it more effective in addressing news literacy needs in Chicago. To better understand the CAR grantmaking framework, review the Journalism Grantmaking Guidelines and our current Logic Model. We anticipate that most Why News Matters projects will fall under the Audience category of funding, while a few may fall within the Content and Rights categories.

Learning and Action Agenda

At its best, news literacy programs help citizens develop critical thinking skills, civic responsibility and respect for First Amendment freedoms. There are many aspects of news literacy we hope to better understand in coming years. Here are some of the questions we have discussed in creating Why News Matters:

• To what degree will civic engagement and knowledge of current events increase through news literacy programs?
• How do news literacy programs impact student success?
• What are the most effective ways to engage middle school, high school and college students in news literacy?
• Research indicates that the principles of news literacy are best learned through interactive, hands-on learning. Do students make strides in news literacy by creating and consuming content that addresses topics of importance to youth?
• Can news literacy content be incorporated into curriculum implementing Common Core standards? What other opportunities are there to apply the values of news literacy in Common Core curriculum? What are the most effective ways to engage adults and seniors in news literacy activities?
• Can news literacy be incorporated with existing adult literacy programs? What about existing job training programs?
• Are there strategies for engaging specific ethnic groups?
• What role can youth play in teaching people of all ages the principles of news literacy?
• Is there potential for news literacy programs to collaborate with other literacies – financial, health and civic?
• How does news literacy overlap with Digital Literacy, Information Literacy and Media Literacy?
• Are there effective ways for news organizations to engage their audiences in news literacy?
• What shared activities, web portals, and collective learning might help bring ‘glue’ to the individual projects funded through this initiative?

Please visit our Why News Matters resources page for links to news literacy programs and research.

Application                                                                                                             

To apply, register as a user and fill out this brief application form on our online application system. Note: If you are a new user to our online application system, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If you already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports). 

The application form includes:   

• Your idea: Give us your elevator pitch. (100 words or less)
• Audience: Who would your initiative target and why? (50 words or less)
• Timeline: Provide a rough overview of the time frame. (50 words or less)
• Budget: What is the estimated cost of the program? (25 words or less)
• Mission statement: Copy and paste your organization’s mission statement.
• Expertise: Why is your organization suited to carry out the project? (50 words or less)
• Evaluation: How you would evaluate the impact of your project? (50 words or less)
• Additional thoughts: Anything else you’d like to add.(50 words or less)

The deadline for submissions is April 2, 2012. Organizations can apply with more than one idea. If your application is selected, we will contact you by late April to request a more detailed letter of inquiry. By mid-June, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals.

Grant winners will be notified in September 2012 and will receive their funding in January 2013.

Ideas can be submitted by 501c3 nonprofit organizations, as well as individuals and businesses partnering with tax-exempt organizations. If you are invited to submit a final proposal, you must select a fiscal agent that is a 501c3.

This initiative is focused on the Chicago area, though we will consider select national programs that have impact on news literacy in Chicago.

Funding

The Foundation plans to invest as much as $2 million in 2013 in the Why News Matters initiative, and we anticipate investing another $4 million in the following two years. In 2013, the majority of projects are likely to be one-year demonstration grants. A select group may be funded for two years or longer. We are in the final stages of developing a news literacy logic model that will shape Why News Matters as a multi-year initiative around tiered outcomes. 

Consult the Why News Matters section of the McCormick Media Matters program blog, which will include a list of FAQs, additional resources and information on upcoming Q&A sessions and webinars. We look forward to hearing from you by April 2, 2012.

If you have questions or comments, please e-mail Aaron Smith at asmith@mccormickfoundation.org. The Journalism Program staff will review your question and get back to you by phone or e-mail. 


Download this RFI as a PDF>

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Why News Matters: Informational Sessions & Webinars

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation has issued a Request for Ideas to individuals and organizations interested in helping to discover Why News Matters. The application, due April 2, 2012, is now live and can be accessed online through our online application system. 

In March, we will be hosting two in-person informational sessions and a webinar about our news literacy initiative, Why News Matters.

Program staff will also be available to answer your questions at the following informational sessions and online Q&A events.

You must register to attend these events. In-person events will be capped at 20 participants. For those who are unable to attend, the sessions will be video recorded and posted for later viewing.

March 9, 2012, 3 pm CT 

WEBINAR 
Why News Matters Informational Webinar Featuring Journalism Program Director Clark Bell and Program Officers Mark Hallett and Janet Liao. Call in information: TBD
Click here to register now>

March 16, 2012, 3 pm CT
IN-PERSON SESSION
Why News Matters Informational Session: Featuring Dean Miller, Director of Stony Brook’s Center for News Literacy. Location: 205 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60601.
Click here to register now>

March 27, 2012, 3 pm CT                         
IN-PERSON SESSION
Why News Matters Informational Session:  Featuring Geanne Rosenberg, Baruch College. Location: 205 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60601.
Click here to register now>

If you have other questions or inquiries, e-mail Aaron Smith (ASmith@McCormickFoundation.org).

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Why News Matters Resources

Here is more information about our impact and evaluation strategy for our news literacy work, as well as our current research projects.

Impact & Evaluation 

A news literacy evaluation logic model is being developed for the Why News Matters initiative. The model will provide baseline indicators and desired targets for the short-and long-term. 

To date, our progress indicators (benchmarks for success) in news literacy have focused on: 

▪ Number of schools implementing news literacy.

▪ Number of students reached by news literacy training. 

▪ Number of youth journalism programs infusing news literacy into curriculum. 

▪ Number of teachers trained in news literacy.

In the longer term (2015), we aim to achieve the following targets:

▪ CPS adopts a news literacy curriculum. 

▪ Expand news literacy classes at local colleges and universities 

▪ Extend reach of news literacy programs throughout Chicago.

Under Why News Matters, we are looking to expand our indicators to address questions in the Learning & Action Agenda section of the Request for Ideas.  Click here for a more comprehensive look at our program logic model. 

Current Research Projects 

To help us reach long-term targets, McCormick Foundation is partnering on several projects to evaluate the impact of news literacy training on young people. The effort includes developing a set of reliable tools for measuring news literacy impact that is shared with other funders, government leaders, school officials, teachers and parents. The evaluation initiatives in progress are summarized below. 

Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society is carrying out a multi-faceted project with McCormick funding to identify the news literacy approaches with the most impact on conducting focus groups in four cities, to help design a curriculum and toolkit. The goal of the Youth and Media Lab is to illuminate best practices from various disciplines to feed news literacy knowledge and practice.

What we will learn: Knowing how youth use the internet should feed news literacy programs and help them better engage their intended audience. What lessons can the news literacy movement draw from information literacy, media literacy, and youth media to help feed news literacy curricula?

University of Missouri: The McCormick Journalism Program is partnering with Stephanie Craft of the University of Missouri to explore a variety of news literacy evaluation issues. This project will help the determine if levels of news media literacy go hand in hand with pro-social attitudes and behaviors such as interest in current affairs, voting and other forms of civic engagement. Prof. Craft has created a survey tool but will conduct focus groups to further improve the model and then conduct a citywide survey of diverse Chicago teens.

What we will learn: What is the relationship between news literacy knowledge and attitudes toward civic engagement? What is the relationship between participants in youth media and scholastic programs and news literacy awareness? What are the best indicators to assess levels of news media literacy?

McCormick Foundation's 2012 News Literacy Grantees 

• Research Foundation for City of New York (Baruch College) for a NYC high school journalism initiative & news literacy symposium. 
• City Colleges of Chicago Foundation  for student media production and news literacy curriculum. 
• Common Sense Media for after school journalism training.
• Florida Gulf Coast University for newsmaker digital conversations with news literacy students. 
• Harvard University-Berkman Center for Youth & Social Media Lab research. 
• Heartland Alliance Social Impact Research Center for evaluation of youth media initiatives.  
• Radio & Television Digital News Association for news literacy training.  
• Pulitzer Center for support of Chicago youth media classroom project. 
• Strategic Human Services/North Lawndale Community for news internships and news literacy training. 
• News Literacy Project for news literacy programs in Chicago Public Schools, including Mt. Vernon Elementary.  
• Stony Brook Foundation Inc. for news literacy training & curriculum. 
• Univ. of Missouri for news literacy evaluation. 

Previous News Literacy Conferences 

Setting Learning Goals for News Literacy. Prof. Geanne Rosenberg of Baruch College directed the November 2010 Inaugural High School News Literacy Summit for high school students, educators and observers from journalism and youth media institutions. Baruch also hosted a dinner/brainstorming session for news/media/digital/information literacy funders, leaders and educators. As you set your own news literacy goals, check out the News Literacy Learning Goals that came out of the convening.

Stony Brook University News Literacy Conference. Visit the News Literacy Conference web site chronicling the first national conference on News Literacy. If you didn’t participate in the conference, this is an opportunity to “attend” the conference yourself. Stony Brook has arranged several layers of navigation so you can spend just a few minutes or a few hours exploring the conference. You will learn what News Literacy is. You will meet the conference attendees, including university presidents and top news media leaders. You can watch a presentation on how a course in News Literacy already is being taught to thousands of undergraduates at Stony Brook University. You can experience the conference “breakout” sessions for yourself and hear about a “Big Idea.”

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Visiting the McCormick Foundation

The McCormick Foundation is located at 205 N. Michigan Avenue (corner of Michigan Avenue and Lake Street) in the Michigan Plaza building complex.  You will see a CVS on the ground floor of the building—that’s how you’ll know you’re here.  (Transit options:  Train – Red Line to Lake Street, then walk over to Michigan Avenue; Brown Line to Clark and Lake, walk over to Michigan.  Bus Lines – 3, 20, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 151 all run along Michigan Avenue.  Get off at the South Water stop.) 

We’re located in Suite 4300, which is on the 43^rd floor.  Go to the security desk at the top of the stairs/escalator to check in.  They’ll present you with a visitor’s badge, which you can use to open the turnstile at the furthest bank of elevators (floors 33-44) by touching the bar code to the red circle of light on the side panel (not the green square).

Parking

There are several public parking decks nearby.  There is one connected to the building itself at 111 E. Wacker (enter off of Wacker Drive just East of Michigan Ave.), next to Lakeshore Athletic Club at 200 N. Stetson Drive, and the Aqua Building at 200 N. Columbus Drive.  All are within easy walking distance of our offices.  Parking averages $20 per day.  Be sure to get a receipt and send it to us for reimbursement.

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Blueprint: Theories of change, strategies and logic model

As you may know, we have revised our grantmaking strategy to focus on building an informed, news-literate and engaged citizenry through quality content, audience education and protection of press freedoms. To help you understand our program goals and targets, we are sharing a copy of our working evaluation logic model. As with most strategic planning and evaluation tools, our logic model is a work in progress. Later this year, we will unveil a logic model extension that focuses on news literacy. 

We welcome your feedback and thoughts on our working logic model. 


Download the logic model> 

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New Online Application System

Last week, we promised to share information about our new grant application process. The new system enables you to complete your Letter of Inquiry online, save your responses, review your application, print it out and e-mail drafts to your colleagues.  

To access the Journalism Program Letter of Inquiry form, click here.

If you are a new user, you'll need to enter your e-mail address and create a password. If already are registered with us, you can use your existing McCormick Grant Request log in and password. (Current grantees: This is the same log in and password you used to complete your year-end grant reports). 


Grants Review Process 
Letters of Inquiry for requests of more than $50,000 are due May 1. LOIs for grant requests of $50,000 or less are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed in February, July and November. Program staff will contact you via phone or e-mail should we require more information about your application. Full proposals are accepted on an invitation-only basis.

If you have questions about the application system, please contact administrative officer Aaron Smith.


At the risk of burying the lead, the Feb. 22 Director’s Notes will provide information about a new Request for Proposals initiative.  Stay tuned.

--Clark Bell, Journalism Program Director 

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6 Free Trainings for Reporters in 2012

Mark your calendars for these free training workshops for reporters on important topics you and your news organizations are covering now.  Travel and tuition are paid for by a grant from The McCormick Foundation.  Apply now for these workshops: 

• Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans return home, straining government resources for veterans beyond capacity. (Hosted by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University, which plans a workshop March 5-7 in Boston. Details and an application at www.necir-bu.org.  Deadline to apply is Feb. 20.)
  
• Covering globalization at the local level — beyond the G8/NATO summits. (Hosted by DePaul University in Chicago and organized by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Poynter Institute.  Workshop March 19-21. Details and an application at www.poynter.org/12sriglobal.  Deadline to apply is Feb. 29.)

• Investigating Super PACs -- following the money. (Hosted by the Sunlight Foundation, which plans a workshop April 21-22 in Washington, D.C.  Details and an application at http://sunlightfoundation.com/training/sri/.  Deadline to apply is March 11.)

Watch for details on these workshops later in the year:

• Stress, suicide and the economy – the recession and mental health. (Hosted by Local Media Foundation (formerly Suburban Newspapers of America) and Associated Press Managing Editors. Workshop will be this summer in Chicago. Details to come.)
• Covering social protest movements in an age of social media. (Hosted by California State University, Fullerton, and the Orange County Press Club, which plan a workshop in October at Cal State Fullerton.)
• Covering school violence and discipline. (Hosted by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  The workshop will take place in October in Chicago.)

Reporters from small and medium-sized news organizations are especially encouraged to apply for these two- and three-day workshops, called McCormick Specialized Reporting Institutes. Watch for a live chat on each topic in the month or so before each workshop on Poynter.org.


If you can't attend the workshop, you can learn key lessons from the training through a webinar that will take place after each workshop on Poynter's e-learning site, News University (www.NewsU.org).  NewsU will also host a page of resources on each topic, sharing sources, tip sheets, story ideas and more.
Questions, email mccormicksri@poynter.org.

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Listening to You

The Feb. 1 Director’s Notes covered results of our recent Customer Service Survey. Some 128 grantees, former grantees and organizations declined funding participated in the anonymous survey.

The Journalism Program first asked for our customer opinions in 2008 and in response made a number of procedural changes. (Incidentally, we showed incremental improvement in nearly all customer service categories in 2011 when compared with the 2008 results.)

Last month, we shared the findings with other McCormick Foundation programs. After reviewing the results, some of our colleagues plan to launch similar customer service surveys later this year.

We take this “pulse of the customer” stuff very seriously and now will undertake surveys every other year.  The data will become a permanent part of our learning agenda.

Here are some other changes we are making in response to the 2011 survey results:

• We are issuing regular e-newsletters that will include information about the Journalism Program and its grantees. Also, you may have noticed an updated layout for our blog, including the punchier nickname M3 (McCormick Media Matters).
• We will publish our evaluation logic model later this month.
• We are actively soliciting grantees for quotes, interviews, photos, videos and ideas for postings.  Check out our Best of, Brainstorm, Blueprint and Backto You features.
• A year-end recap to explain the realities of funding and chances of success. 
• We will attempt to customize decline letters to better explain why proposals were declined. Some proposals are bad fits. Many others are declined because of limited funds during a highly selective process.  
• We will continue to accept letters of inquiry year-round for grant requests of less than $50,000.  They will be reviewed by staff in February, July and November. Top McCormick management approval is   required before grants can be paid out. We will attempt to release grant checks of $50,000 or less in March, August and December.
• Letters of inquiry for grants of more than $50,000 must be submitted by May 1, 2012. These proposals will be reviewed by our Board of Directors in September and paid out in January of 2013.

The Feb. 15 Director’s Notes will provide details of a new online letter of inquiry and proposal process tied to our grant management process.

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Face-to-Face: Conversations with Journalists

Put your students in touch with journalists they'd never otherwise meet. Virtually, undergraduates and high school students talk to reporters who work in challenging environments. Bonus: Lesson plans to accompany the conversations, aimed at helping students develop their news literacy skills.

In January, two St. Pete reporters (Kathleen Flynn and Kris Hundley) discussed their story "Testing Grounds," about drug testing for Big Pharma in India's hospitals.

In February, 22-year-old reporter Alex Pena talks to us from southern Sudan, where he's been reporting for VOA and others for the past month.

In March, we hear from Yemeni reporter Malak Shaher, an Alfred Friendly Press Fellow.

The series runs monthly during the academic year, through April of 2013. After-the-fact replays, along with lesson plans, will be available on Poynter's NewsU for a nominal fee.

Teachers, apply here to participate in a Face-to-Face conversation:

Face-to-Face: Conversations with Journalists is sponsored by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. It's a partnership between Florida Gulf Coast University and Poynter's NewsU.

Contact Lyn Millner for more information.

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Brainstorm: Journalists and Fair Use

January was a big month for free speech and online press freedoms, in light of the strong responses to the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP (or PIPA) bills.

A group of 30 journalists convened in D.C. on Jan. 20, 2012, to discuss new research by The Center for Social Media (CSM) at American University on how fair use and copyright policies impact professional standards in digital journalism.

Fair use, according to lead researchers Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, is the right for journalists to quote copyright material (in some circumstances) without permission or payment. Two questions are key in determining whether source material passes the fair use test:

1. Is the new use of copyrighted material “transformative” (i.e. reusing for a new purposes rather than repeating the use for which there is an existing market?)
2. And if so, is the amount used appropriate (even if it’s 100 percent) to the new use?

CSM performed a scan of current standards and practices in U.S. news organizations, including newspapers, magazines, broadcast news outlets, blogs and aggregators. It also conducted interviews with 80 journalists regarding their fair-use practices.

The preliminary results of the research, supported by a McCormick Foundation grant, identified a need for better shared understanding of fair use within journalistic practice, including original reporting, aggregation, within large institutions or in an one-person operation.

Participants at the convening discussed ways to engage different journalistic communities in better exercising fair use.

Download the Center for Social Media’s Journalists & Fair Use report.

Have you come across a fair use issue in your journalistic work? Have ideas on how to help the next generation of journalists build a better understanding of free press issues?  Let us know what you think.

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McCormick Media Awards for Chicago High School Journalists

Don't miss Chicago's annual high school  journalism workshop and awards ceremony. This year, the event will be held on March 16, 2012 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Register now and submit your students’ entries for a chance to compete in dozens of categories. The top student journalists will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Applications are due on Feb. 17.  SPAC is also accepting nominations for Principal of the Year.  

For registration and nomination information on The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago/McCormick Foundation High Schools Media Awards, visit http://spac-chicago.blogspot.com/. 

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Pulse of our Customers

Deepest thanks to the 128 grantees and grant-seeking organizations that participated in our recent Customer Service Survey.  That’s nearly double the number of respondents in 2008, the first time we formally took the pulse of our “customers.”

The McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program takes this process very seriously.  Staff interactions with organizations that apply or are funded by McCormick form the core of what we do and how we do it.
Next week’s Director’s Notes (scheduled for Feb. 8 posting) will outline some of the strategic and procedural changes we are making in response to your feedback.

Let’s remember that the goal of the survey was to learn how we can improve our customer service.  In December, we closely eyeballed an 18-page report sent by Kate Julian, the consultant who administered the survey.  The respondents were roughly 40 percent grantees, 20 percent former grantees and 40 percent declined applicants.
We included questions about our grantmaking strategy in content, audience and rights. We asked about the application process, timelines, reporting requirements and the effectiveness of our digital communication offerings.

Most of the results were favorable. More than 80 percent say we do a good job of explaining the grantmaking process. They clearly understand our guidelines and find the procedures useful.  Some 79 percent of the respondents use our website several times per year or more to glean information, apply for grants or report their results.

About 75 percent said our grantmaking process is either better than usual or best in class.  Some 92 percent of the respondents agree or strongly agree that the Journalism Program staff is courteous, responsive, knowledgeable, helpful and accessible. Words used to describe us include focused, innovative, forward thinking, relevant, strategic, committed and passionate.

However, not everyone hopped aboard the Love Train.  For example, only one in three respondents feel that changes in our funding priorities have been clearly communicated.  Moreover, about half of those who were declined funding say they want more information on why others were selected. We have been described as a little out of step, ambiguous, bureaucratic and brusque. Ouch.
Other key findings:

• Nine of ten respondents find meetings and phone conversations with MF staff to be useful.  Only four in ten find social media a useful communication strategy.
• About one in four respondents didn’t access the McCormick Foundation website in 2011.  Only one in three accessed the McCormick Media Matters blog.
• About nine of ten who connect with our website, blog and social media rated the content as excellent or good.  Most access our digital content to learn about the work of the Journalism Program and its grantees.  More than 90 percent say they were able to find what they were looking for on the website and blog.
• More good news: Two thirds of the grantees say the Journalism Program has contributed to their organizations beyond the dollars received. And not so good: Nearly half of all respondents remain fuzzy about our program deadlines.  That is disturbing and will be addressed.

--Clark Bell, Journalism Program Director 

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