Chicago Parent was one of nearly 50 local media organizations benefiting from a collaborative Journalism Fund to help spread information about COVID-19 to Chicagoland communities.
The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, in collaboration with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, and the Field Foundation, today announced 48 grants totaling more than $425,000.
“COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting communities of color,” said Andres Torres, Democracy program officer at the McCormick Foundation, in a media release. “Adding to the challenge, the communities that have historically suffered disinvestment have also been left out of prevailing media narratives, making it harder for community residents to get localized advice related to the pandemic to guide their decision-making. We’re hopeful these grants will keep community voice alive in neighborhoods around Chicagoland during these difficult times.”
Chicago Parent was awarded the grant to continue its daily efforts in providing information and advice to overwhelmed parents throughout Chicagoland and ideas of things to do to help kids thrive during the pandemic. It offers information-filled newsletters three times a week, as well as a robust virtual calendar and daily stream of stories at ChicagoParent.com. Its monthly issues for April and May also are in digital format, allowing the magazine to reach more families right where they are, safe at home.
The Journalism Fund prioritized support for organizations with an operating budget of $2 million or less, with preference provided to outlets serving historically marginalized audiences, primarily people of color and individuals speaking languages other than English. Each grantee organization must make the coverage they produce with these funds freely available to the public, the media release said.
Grant recipients were placed in four categories including local media outlets informing non-English speakers, those informing residents in local COVID-19 hotspots, those reaching other vulnerable communities in the region and support for the Chicago Independent Media Alliance.
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