May 26, 2022
What is the impact of nonprofit news? In this case study series, leaders from four of INN’s member news organizations tell us how they define, track and measure the impact of their work.
The range of responses from these four outlets – a large, global outlet (the Pulitzer Center), a small statewide organization (The Maine Monitor), and two local organizations (City Bureau in Chicago and Resolve Philly in Philadelphia) – reveals how the impact of nonprofit journalism cannot be understood or measured by a one-size-fits all approach.
Emerging across the nonprofit journalism sector are different types of news outlets working toward and achieving different types of impact, from enabling civic engagement and connecting residents with critical services, to performing a watchdog role and uncovering corruption.
INN members: Nonprofit news outlets are frequently called upon to demonstrate their impact – from funders, board members, audiences, and even their own staff. We hope these cases provide useful examples for how your news organization can think about, articulate and measure the impact of its work.
For journalism funders: The funding community often seeks ways to measure the impact of its investment. We hope these cases demonstrate how that return on investment can take on different shapes and sizes across types of nonprofit newsrooms.
This series was facilitated by INN’s Emily Roseman, with responses from various INN member newsrooms and editing by Louis Freedberg.
Know what’s new in nonprofit news.
Receive our weekly INNovation newsletter with top stories from newsrooms across North America, resources from media innovators and timely job opportunities, plus invitations to events.
"*" indicates required fields