Good Reporting on Science and Health Is Becoming Ever More Vital. Who’s Supporting It?

Climate change and COVID are just two pressing challenges facing the country and the planet, but they are arguably the best illustrations of why philanthropy must continue — and increase — its funding to help journalists report on science and health. In these areas, as in science communications more generally, accuracy is a constant challenge. Any scientist can tell you how easily even well-meaning reporters can mischaracterize research. In addition, two years of pandemic coverage and over four decades of climate change reporting have shown how extensively political or economic agendas can cloud public discourse on science and health topics.

As we explore in our report, “Giving for Journalism and Public Media” (part of our State of American Philanthropy series of topic-level overviews), philanthropic support for journalism has been historically dominated by a handful of large, national foundations. In recent years, those givers have been joined by wealthy individual givers aiming to curb misinformation and support local news — resulting in surging philanthropic support across the spectrum of coverage.

If you’re a staff or freelance editor or reporter interested in covering health, science, the environment, technology or other science-related fields, we recommend a search through the Inside Philanthropy Grantfinder. There, you can find a list of funders of medical and science journalism and identify grant opportunities in your subject of interest or geographical region of concern. Also look out for funding opportunities that may be available for BIPOC or female journalists, and to cover health or science issues affecting under-served communities. (Note that not all funders accept unsolicited requests for funding.)

Health journalism

As one example of that, the International Women’s Media Foundation supports women journalists and media professionals via fellowship, grants and awards programs. The foundation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing its Global Health Reporting Initiative to support journalists with an expertise in health as they cover vaccine acceptance and other issues.

Indeed, COVID-19 has shown that health reporting can be a matter of life and death. In the two-plus years since the start of the pandemic, several funders of health-related journalism have directed funds to coverage of COVID matters, such as vaccines and inequities in healthcare. The Fund for Investigative Journalism, for example, which supports journalism to expose corruption and other misconduct, launched a new emergency grant program to support U.S.-based freelance investigative journalists working on stories about the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically to reveal wrongdoing in the public or private sectors.

The pandemic has also highlighted systemic weaknesses in the healthcare system, and that will continue to require elucidation and coverage for years to come. The National Institute for Health Care Management supports healthcare-related journalism on topics including healthcare costs, quality, reform, delivery, coverage, Medicare, Medicaid and population health.

Another important funder in this space is the Rita Allen Foundation. Its two main funding concerns are science and social innovation — including millions in support for early-career biomedical researchers — and the promotion of civic literacy and engagement. In recent years, the foundation has made grants for COVID-19 journalism and to advance equity and inclusion in solutions journalism.

Recently, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, ever one of the health field’s leading foundations, awarded a two-year, $1.3 million grant to Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The funds were earmarked to address health disparities in the Southwest U.S., focusing on Hispanic and Indigenous communities in the region.

Science and environmental journalism

Within the environmental space, journalists covering climate issues may be able to tap into a growing number of grant opportunities. According to a report by Media Impact Funders, grantmakers awarded $167 million for environmental media projects and organizations from 2009 to 2019. More funding is needed as climate change accelerates.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a major funder of healthcare causes and basic science research, has provided grants in recent years to promote journalism about ocean conservation. The foundation has also in recent years made grants to train healthcare journalists and foster high-quality reporting about healthcare.

Earlier this year, the Associated Press, one of the world’s largest news media agencies, with bureaus around the world, announced that a group of philanthropic backers had provided $8 million for climate change coverage. The AP said it would assign more than two-dozen journalists — 20 of them new hires — to cover climate issues. The funding came from five funders of health and science: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Quadrivium, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

Recognizing the importance of better public understanding of arcane and technical topics, some of the best-known funders of basic science research offer grants to support media that reaches a broad audience. The Sloan Foundation, for example, known for its programs supporting research in physics, astronomy, computer technology and other fields, also backs programming on radio and television, among other media, to promote improved understanding of science to the wider public.

The Kavli Foundation, which has grown in recent years to become one of the top funders of U.S. and global research in astrophysics, nanoscience, physics and neuroscience, supports science journalism through workshops, partnerships and awards. It makes grants through its Science and Society program in areas including Ethics, Science, and the Public; Public Engagement and Science; Science Policy and Science Journalism. The organization also gives out the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards, administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for reporting on the fields of science, engineering or mathematics.

The misinformation menace

Looking at the sector as a whole, much of the philanthropic funding for journalism as a category goes to journalism schools. For instance, tech entrepreneur Craig Newmark, who founded the online classified ad website Craigslist, has given significant sums to support journalism, including $20 million to what was then renamed the City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Newmark has recently ramped up his giving to combat media manipulation and disinformation, support that is badly needed as society works through digital-age challenges around cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence and more.

The rise of social media has been a double-edged sword: Everyone has a voice, not an undesirable goal in of itself, but many of those voices are spreading misinformation and disinformation. As that trend continues, and as threats like pandemics and the climate crisis affect all of our lives, clear and accurate reporting on health and science issues will be ever more important — as will the philanthropic funding that makes it possible.

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