Knight Poverty Journalism Initiative

The economic adversity of recent years has come at an especially challenging time for U.S. news media. Not only have newsrooms thinned their ranks, but advertising revenue has become harder to pursue, and that has strengthened the incentives for editorial activities with clear popular appeal, be they crowd-sourced civic initiatives or vertical informational services with ready-made, demographically appealing audiences. The results are powerful currents pulling the media’s gaze away from the harsh realities of economic injustice and material need.
And yet, the traditional commitment of U.S. journalism to examining and exposing those realities runs deep, from Jacob Riis to Edward R. Murrow to Barbara Ehrenreich. Journalists have long measured their civic value and professional courage by their efforts to goad the society into honoring its own promises of fairness and its commitment to ensuring that its people live decently.
In the hope of reaffirming and reanimating that journalistic tradition, the website,