Investing in Equitable News and Media Projects Photo credit from Left to Right: Artwork: “Infinite Essence-James” by Mikael Owunna #Atthecenter; Luz Collective; Media Development Investment Fund. INVESTING IN EQUITABLE NEWS AND MEDIA PROJECTS AUTHORS Andrea Armeni, Executive Director, Transform Finance Dr. Wilneida Negrón, Project Manager, Capital, Media, and Technology, Transform Finance ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Farai Chideya, Ford Foundation Jessica Clark, Dot Connector Studio This work benefited from participation in and conversations at the Media Impact Funders and Knight Media Forum events. The authors express their gratitude to the organizers of these events. ABOUT TRANSFORM FINANCE Transform Finance is a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of social justice and capital. We support investors committed to aligning their impact investment practice with social justice values through education and research, the development of innovative investment strategies and tools, and overall guidance. Through training and advisory support, we empower activists and community leaders to shape how capital flows affect them – both in terms of holding capital accountable and having a say in its deployment. Reach out at
[email protected] for more information. THIS REPORT WAS PRODUCED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION. Questions about this report in general? Email
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[email protected]. Read something in this report that you’d like to share? Find us on Twitter @TransformFin Table of Contents 05 I. INTRODUCTION 08 II. LANDSCAPE AND KEY CONSIDERATIONS 13 III. RECOMMENDATIONS 22 IV. PRIMER: DIFFERENT TYPES OF INVESTMENTS IN EARLY-STAGE ENTERPRISES 27 V. CONCLUSION APPENDIX: 28 A. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 29 B. LANDSCAPE OF EQUITABLE MEDIA INVESTORS AND ADJACENT INVESTORS I.