Carnegie Corporation of New York, MacArthur, Packard, and Rockefeller Foundations join initiative.
A multi-foundation effort to generate support for the PBS NewsHour has resulted in $3.55 million of special funding for the news program, according to MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, which produces the NewsHour. The participants in the initiative are Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
“For many television stations, advertisers are a lifeline. But for PBS, viewers are the lifeline,” explained Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Today, as harsh economic realities continue to take a toll both on the quality and quantity of news sources, the NewsHour remains dedicated to the highest standards of journalism around both national and global issues and events. Carnegie Corporation, which helped to create public television, is proud to continue its tradition of supporting excellence in the public realm by joining with other foundations in funding the invaluable and irreplaceable NewsHour.”
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support The NewsHour,” said Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. “During such a critical time – filled with civil unrest, economic uncertainty and political elections - high quality, in-depth reporting is more important than ever to educate and engage the public.”
“It’s especially encouraging to have this special general support from some of the nation’s leading foundations,” said Bo Jones, President of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. “It is key to supporting the program’s infrastructure and ability to grow.”
Together, the grants will help support PBS NewsHour’s ongoing commitment to in-depth coverage on-air and online of the 2012 presidential election, the economy, international developments, and health, science, education, and arts news.
In particular, the funds will enable NewsHour reporters and correspondents to travel across the country to report from the field on issues critical in the election and to America’s democracy, such as jobs, the economy, immigration, education, the environment, and foreign policy, as well as reports examining the changing nature and reality of the American electorate itself. It will also support the PBS NewsHour Digital Election Data Center, which will give web viewers following the election campaign the same professional tools that the NewsHour’s political unit will use on a daily basis. PBS NewsHour has developed several innovative and interactive tools, such as crowd-sourced translation of key political speeches in collaboration with Google+ and Mozilla; “Listen to Me,” a YouTube-based platform where voters can share their views on the issues driving the election;,and electoral maps that feature live election results.
ABOUT CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation’s work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy. For more information, please visit www.carnegie.org
ABOUT THE JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MacARTHUR FOUNDATION
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. More information is at www.macfound.org .
ABOUT THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private family foundation created in 1964 by David Packard (1912–1996), cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914–1987). The Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the following program areas: Conservation and Science; Population and Reproductive Health; and Children,Families, and Communities. www.packard.org
ABOUT THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of people throughout the world has remained unchanged since its founding in 1913. Today, that mission is applied to an era of rapid globalization. Our vision is that this century will be one in which globalization’s benefits are more widely shared and its challenges are more easily weathered. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org
ABOUT PBS NEWSHOUR
PBS NEWSHOUR is seen by over 5 million weekly viewers and is also available online, via public radio in select markets and via podcast. The program is produced in association with WETA Washington, D.C., and WNET.org in New York. Major corporate funding for the PBS NEWSHOUR is provided by BNSF Railway, AT&T, and CITI with additional support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. www.pbs.org/newshour