The Left'S Nonprofit Journalism Empire: Big Philanthropy'S Play


Foundation: MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation

credit: Flickr

The MacArthur Foundation, known for its "genius grants" to left-wing activists, has announced a $500 million philanthropic push to boost local journalism.

The push, called "Press Forward," aims to "enhance local journalism at an unprecedented level to re-center local news as a force for community cohesion; support new models and solutions that are ready to scale; and close longstanding inequities in journalism coverage and practice," the foundation said in a press release.

But critics say the push is an example of liberal philanthropy at its worst, Politico reports.

"That would be surprising if true, given that MacArthur is one of the longest-standing institutions in the overwhelmingly liberal world of Big Philanthropy," writes Michael Wolff at the Daily Beast.

"Its grantmaking is similarly left-wing."

Among the recipients: Mother Jones, environmentalist magazine Grist, Washington Monthly, Washington City Paper, and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, among others.

The group's biggest donor, the Ford Foundation, "has been a major funder of left-of-center activism across many issues," writes Wolff.

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