A Conversation with Liz Carter, Outgoing President and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation
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Liz Carter
Liz Carter’s introduction to community journalism was in the late 1990s, just as the internet was beginning to transform the sector. After graduating from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in English, she and her husband settled in Northeast Arkansas, where she got a job as a reporter after responding to an ad in the local paper. “That’s when I began to see what journalism can mean to a local community,” she told me.
The pair eventually moved to Cincinnati, where she served as executive director of nonprofit direct services provider St. Vincent de Paul. After 15 years in the role, Carter got a call from a rep at the media firm E.W. Scripps Company asking if she’d be interested in leading its philanthropic work. “It took a lot of soul searching, but I decided it was the right opportunity for me,” she said. “It’s no secret that it's been a tough time for journalism, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I believed in the work they were doing.”
Earlier this year, Carter announced she would be retiring as the president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation, which distributed $8.7 million in grants in 2023 to programs for journalism education, childhood literacy and other causes in communities where the company does business. Carter also leads the Scripps Howard Fund, a public charity that she launched in 2022. Her official retirement date is slated for May.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Carter to discuss the wildly successful book campaign she launched, bright spots in an volatile journalism field and what she has planned for her first day after stepping away from Scripps Howard. Here are some excerpts from that discussion, which have been edited for clarity.
Looking back on your tenure, what are you most proud of?
I love the charitable pharmacy that was created at St. Vincent de Paul and how our volunteers cared for people who needed help. I love our Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism, and our book campaign, “If You Give a Child a Book…” It’s sort of like, “Who’s your favorite kid?” I love them all.
The thing that I’m most proud of isn’t a particular program, it was being able to think about things in a way that would engage other people and give them a way to give back. And when I see all the amazing people who have given their talents, time, compassion and hearts to the work that I’ve been privileged to be involved in, I feel very proud to have been a part of that as well.
Speaking of that book campaign, you launched it in 2016. How did that come together?
We were thinking about how we could work with our employees to do something meaningful. Being an information company, we are dedicated to the idea that the more knowledge people have, the more they can make the best choices for themselves. Journalism is certainly a part of that, but it goes back to being a child and being able to read.
So in 2016, when we invited our employees to give to the Scripps Howard Foundation, we said, “We will use every penny to purchase books for children in need in your community.” We talked to the Scripps family, and they made some donations that we used as a match for our employees. We zeroed in on kids in kindergarten through third grade because once kids go to school, there’s this idea that it’s the school’s job to provide them with books. But studies also show that kids learn to read when they pick their own books and read at home.
You can tell when something is right when it touches a nerve, and we could see that right away, because our employees could see the impact they were having on a personal level. Last year, we gave out our millionth book.
The program is incredibly important in light of how the pandemic affected kids’ education, not to mention the proliferation of smartphones and tablets.
Absolutely. We sometimes get people who say, “Couldn’t you just give them tablets and then they can download the stories?” But when a child's learning to read, it’s about engaging all of your senses. It’s the feel of the book, the look of the book — that is part of that learning process, and you don't get it on a phone or a tablet.
I don’t need to tell you that the news business is facing profound challenges. What’s your take on philanthropy’s role during this uncertain time?
I remember 20 years ago, people were saying, “It’s probably going to take 20 years for us to figure this out.” Now it’s been 20 years, and we’re still figuring that out. The breakdown of the business model, the change in consumer habits, what people understand the news to be, the lack of trust in what I consider “good journalism” — there just aren’t many easy answers.
I think philanthropy can play a critical role by being an incubator for new ideas and a champion for the fundamental principles of good journalism. I also think that philanthropy is being more cognizant of how every aspect that contributes to journalism needs to be thought about in a different way. For example, I’m happy to see more people thinking about college-level journalism, and how that contributes to the bigger picture, rather than it just being a place where somebody goes to be educated and gets spit out into the field.
I know for those of us at IP who keep track of the field, it’s a constant struggle to avoid a sense of pessimism.
I don’t believe in pessimism. I wish that we had more money to work with. I wish we could have an even bigger impact. But that’s not pessimism. As funders, we have to recommit ourselves to allowing journalists to follow stories wherever they go. Most of the philanthropists I’ve talked to feel that way, so I don’t feel terribly pessimistic about any one thing, but I do think understanding the role of the donor is important.
It’s been a little disheartening these past few years to see instances where donors have gotten under the hood on some programs and some forced changes that maybe weren’t, in my opinion, within the purview of their gifting responsibilities. That’s probably gone on forever, and it’s something that we have to deal with.
On the bright side, we’re seeing new funders enter the field. Are you seeing a similar trend?
We are. Nine or 10 years ago, the field was dominated by a limited number of funders that, because of their history, mostly focused on journalism. That has changed, and I credit funders for educating the community on how important journalism is to our democracy, no matter your focus area. When only strictly journalism funders say, “This matters,” that can look like self-interest. But when you have other local funders saying, “This is important for us to invest in it,” that sends a different message, and it’s very powerful.
I feel like there’s also an element of enlightened self-interest. Local funders are saying, “Wait, what happened to my local paper?”
Yes, because there aren’t legitimate local news outlets, like the papers I grew up with. But people are going to get their news from somewhere, and if there isn’t a trusted local outlet, they may end up turning to a source that doesn’t provide real news.
What’s your plan on the first day after you leave Scripps?
Honestly, this is the hardest question [Laughs]. I will say this much: I will not be sleeping late. I will be up and out of bed early. If it’s a nice day, I’ll probably be out on my bike. I’ll be volunteering. And I will be spending some time with my husband and my sister and brother-in-law. I’m looking forward to having time to devote to family and friends.
