This year, some of my biggest conversations about media and information ecosystems happened in cities shaped by water.
In Miami, at the Knight Media Forum, the conversation stretched from local news to catalytic capital and the larger question of what communities need in order to find trustworthy information. In San Francisco, at the Media Impact Forum, I moderated a discussion about impact, public-interest media, technology, safety and sustainable funding models. In Baltimore, at the Grantmakers in Health conference, I helped lead a media grantmaking workshop for health funders—an encouraging sign that information is increasingly being understood as part of the infrastructure for health.
Different cities, different rooms, same current underneath: local information does not flow on its own. It needs trusted journalists and messengers, community relationships, accessible platforms, sustainable business models and funders willing to learn a field that can feel unfamiliar.
The water connection may be mostly coincidence, but I kept thinking about flow. Information moves through communities much like water moves through a city: through visible channels and hidden systems, shaped by infrastructure, ownership, access and barriers. When the system is healthy, it connects people. When it is neglected or controlled by too few interests, the consequences travel far beyond the newsroom.
For philanthropy, investing in media is not about rescuing one industry for nostalgia’s sake. It is about strengthening the conditions people need to make decisions, participate in civic life, protect their health and tell fuller stories about their communities.
I came home from each city with new questions, a stack of business cards I swear I will organize, and a stronger conviction that information ecosystems are community infrastructure. We should fund them with the same seriousness we bring to other systems that help people thrive.
#MediaPhilanthropy #InformationEcosystem #LocalNews #HealthEquity #KnightMediaForum #MediaImpactForum #GrantmakersInHealth #Philanthropy
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