Opening Plenary

51st ANNUAL ARNOVA CONFERENCE

Imagining ARNOVA's Next 50 Years:

Scholarship, Practice, Community

Nov 17-19 | Raleigh Convention Center - Raleigh, NC

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Nonprofit Journalism, Democracy, and the Future of our Field

This year’s conference looks forward to ARNOVA’s next fifty years and the changing nonprofit and philanthropy sector landscape. Our plenary provides us with the opportunity to reflect on one emerging issue of particular consequence: the growing use of the nonprofit form in journalism and media, and its implications for democracy.

Our plenary brings together four people working in this field, as researchers, journalists, and funders. The panelists will reflect on a range of issues related to this important development in our sector, including:

What are the forces driving journalism and media organizations to organize as nonprofits?
What are the benefits of organizing as a nonprofit? How does it support the goals of an active, inquiring, and engaged free press?
What are the implications of nonprofit journalism for democracy?
How does the change in a revenue model from one focused on advertisers to donors, subscribers, or other stakeholders affect the work of journalism?
How does this development affect the sustainability of local journalism?
How have media organizations and communities benefited from the adoption of the nonprofit form?
What opportunities are there for researchers interested in nonprofit journalism? What gaps in knowledge are most significant?

Immediately following the plenary, the panel members will participate in a discussion with interested ARNOVA members about developing a research agenda in this field.

Meet the Speakers

Bio

Ayan Mittra is the senior managing editor of The Texas Tribune, where he's worked for 10 years. He helps oversee the Tribune's enterprise and projects work, as well as the newsroom’s expansion into various parts of the state. He is also responsible for the newsroom’s collaborations with business-side colleagues and media partners. Before joining the Tribune, Ayan worked more than 10 years at The Dallas Morning News.

Bio

Erica Beshears Perel is the director of the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media, as well as former local journalist and journalism educator. She ran the nonprofit that publishes UNC’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, for several years during a period in which the newspaper built individual giving and grant support into a robust revenue stream. The Center is an applied research, education and outreach center that aims to build a more sustainable and equitable future for local news.

Bio

Lizzy Hazeltine helps teams solve real problems, grow revenue to sustain themselves, and deepen their service to their communities. She applies hard-won lessons from local media, early-stage venture capital, and product management to build teams' capacity for service and sustainability. As Director, Lizzy Hazeltine leads the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund’s overall strategy and portfolio, supports funders to maximize their impact, cultivates connections among organizations in the North Carolina news ecosystem, and tracks and amplifies case studies and lessons learned. With the goal of making the Fund and philanthropy more accessible, Lizzy holds open office hours, and especially encourages those who are new to grant seeking to connect. She also coaches teams in various national news transformation programs and supports industry-wide learning around revenue and DEI. Lizzy’s journalism training began at UNC Chapel Hill where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.

Bio

Paola Jaramillo is a Colombian immigrant, journalist, entrepreneur, co-founder and executive director of the Spanish-language non-profit news organization, Enlace Latino NC. Her work has been recognized with more than 24 national journalism awards by the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP). She believes that now more than ever it is urgent to create new journalistic spaces that tell well-written, informative, and educational stories that provide the community with the necessary tools to make informed decisions.