The gift is part of a $5.5 million contribution by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to NPR to expand the network’s collaborative journalism efforts to boost local news coverage in California, the Midwest and other regions across the country.
NPR has announced that it has received a $5.5 million grant from philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation to expand the network’s collaborative journalism efforts. This gift includes funds to support The California Newsroom, which is administered by KQED.
The California Newsroom is a collaboration between KQED, CapRadio, LAist, KCRW, KPBS, CalMatters, NPR and more than a dozen public media organizations around the state. Together, they leverage their collective resources to strengthen the quality of local news and amplify stories that otherwise might not reach so-called news deserts within the state and nationally. The newsroom focuses exclusively on California and the issues and events that directly affect Californians.
A portion of the Schmidts’ gift will fund four positions in the California Newsroom for a three-year period: an investigations editor and a data journalist plus two new editors to support expanded content on both digital and audio platforms. The gift will also fund new positions in The Midwest Newsroom, enable creation of a regional newsroom in the Appalachia/Mid-South area, bolster an existing public media collaboration in the Mountain West and fund a multi-station visual journalism pilot in New England.
“We are incredibly grateful for this gift,” says Holly Kernan, chief content officer at KQED. “As the network of regional media institutions continues to grow to serve our diverse audiences and combat growing polarization, this gift–and the strength of the partnerships it serves–will help ensure that fact-based, independent news reaches all Californians.”