Over the last decade we have seen over 1800 newspapers disappear across the US. 74,000 journalist in 2006 has shrunk to 30,000 in 2020. Penny Abernathy, “Expanding News Desert”
The Maui News has cut its staff to a small fraction from what it was. Their ownership group is based in West Virginia and has continued to cut expenses and reduce coverage. It is up for sale with little chance of being revived.
How the decline in local news coverage impacts our community… üCivic engagement declines within the local community 4 üSocial cohesion weakens and degrades 5 ü Awareness of local affairs declines 6 ü Party polarization increases 7 üVoting rates and engagement declines 8 üLocal official become less responsive 9 Notes: ”News Crisis” White Paper by Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government 4- Michael Barthel, Jesse Holcomb, Jessica Mahone, and Amy Mitchell, “Civic Engagement Strongly Tied to Local News Habits,” Pew Research Center, November 3, 2016 5- Masahiro Yamamoto, “Community Newspaper Use Promotes Social Cohesion,” Newspaper Research Journal 32 (2011) 6-Jeffery J. Mondak, Nothing to Read: Newspapers and Elections in a Social Experiment 7-Joshua P. Darr, Matthew P. Hitt, and Johanna L. Dunaway, “Newspaper Closures Polarize Voting Behavior, Journal of Communication 68 8-Danny Hayes and Jennifer L. Lawless, News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement 9-Julie Freeman and Brett Hutchins, “Digital media and local democracy: news media, local governments and civic action,” Australian Journalism Review
Mission: To be a critical resource for Maui and Hawaii that supports and sustains a vibrant, diverse, healthy and informed community and democracy through professional and fact-based journalism. Vision: We will accomplish this mission by delivering quality journalism and invaluable news to Maui and Hawaii which will better inform our residents, hold our leaders accountable and be supported by our community. Values: Work together, be disciplined, follow the truth, and deliver on our goals.
Our Action Plan to Deliver News…
HJI editorial will report on: ü Issues and events that significantly touch the lives of Maui residents ü Events that Maui residents are talking about or are interested in ü Stories residents “need” to know or are unaware of that could impact their lives ü People making a difference in Maui County ü Positive happenings in the community Reporting approach: ü Stories will offer an in-depth, balanced approach ü Traditional news reporting values will be adhered to – not “sensationalizing” ü Maintain journalistic integrity ü Employing innovative/state of the art approaches to stories to cover an issue or event ü Reporters, editors and board members will work to get out in the community to find out what stories align with the HJI mission
3 Minute Promo Video
Financial Sustainability Plan Business Model 1-4 years – Hybrid model of Donors – Ads – Grants Revenue Income Source Breakdown Year 1: 95% donations, 3% reader donations, 2% grants Year 2: 80% donations, 10% reader donations, 10% grants Year 3: 65% donations, 12% reader donations, 15% grants, 8% ads Year 4: 50% donations, 20% reader donations, 20% grants, 10% ads .
Fundraising Foundations target list
National Organizations that Support Journalism Nonprofits
National Grant and Foundation Strategy for HJI Goal – work with HJI editorial leads to identify cross sections between Maui local news needs and potential foundations and grants that can fund those programs. ü Areas of focus that funding is available: local political news, high school sports, climate news, healthcare, farming sustainability, diversity newsrooms and pacific islander community coverage. ü Editorial executions can be in the form of special reports (distributed via Maui Now and other outlets, specific websites that can be funded like – www.mauihighschool.org, podcast series, documentaries and general multi-media executions. ü Identified 2-3 potential grant writers and business development contracts to assist in grant writing and sales process ü Strategy is to develop a series of projects, find funding and deliver on HJI mandate
Foundation and Grant Consultant Lead based in Washington D.C.
Current Board of Directors
Mahalo!