[Leadership Rewind] Dale Anglin: Now More than Ever – Why Local News Needs Philanthropic Support

Listen in as Kristine and Dale discuss:

• The 50K local journalists that have lost their jobs in the last 10 years and why this is a foundational problem for community and democracy
• Local news gives us local things to talk about; this is vital to growing community connections
• The many ways philanthropy can support local news, both for-profit and nonprofit
• Why systems change always includes narrative change
• Press Forward: a funder collective that gives philanthropy a way to support local news

Key Takeaways:

• Without local news, you have more polarization and less government accountability
• For a long time, journalism did not need philanthropy. With subscriptions and advertising, the revenue model worked for over a century. This is no longer true
• Now, it’s a public good that needs to be nurtured and protected
• It was taken for granted that local news would always be there, and now we cannot. We must revitalize this industry to build communities and bring people together 
• Policy requires residents to participate, not just elected officials and representatives. We need to be informed about local issues to have local influence
• Play is also “local” and a way to get to know each other and build bridges

"Narrative change is important in general. News and information is a component of that. You choose within that field of things and of activities that you can find within that, but the point is, you need to include it, not just direct services for the people. Narrative change is ridiculously important." — Dale Anglin

"To work with partners, you have to trust those partners. To trust people, you have to know them. Play is one of the ways to get to know people." — Dale Anglin

Episode References:

• Merle McGee: The Promise, Practice, and Purpose of Everyday Democracy: https://www.impactfullinc.com/playfull-podcast/merle-mcgee 

About Dale Anglin: Dale R. Anglin serves as the inaugural director of Press Forward, the growing coalition of 60+ local and national funders committed to investing more than $500 million to strengthen communities, democracy, and local news.  Most recently, Anglin served as Vice President for Grantmaking at the Cleveland Foundation, managing a $60 million budget. At the Foundation, Anglin helped create Documenters Cleveland and Signal, the statewide nonprofit newsroom, launch a new system of integrated physical health and mental wellness in Cleveland schools, and led the region’s COVID-19 Fund.

Anglin also served as associate director for programs at the Victoria Foundation in Newark, NJ, and, executive director of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management in Washington, D.C.  Originally from Chicago, Anglin has a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a master’s degree from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley

Connect with Dale: 

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