Knight Center Receives $4M Grant from Knight Foundation as it Celebrates 20 Years
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas this week received a $4 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that will ensure its sustainable future and further strengthen its efforts to educate and support journalists around the world.
Part of the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, the Knight Center has been elevating the standards of journalism for the past two decades through its online courses and conferences. The five-year grant coincides with the Center’s 20th Anniversary, which was celebrated last month.
"The Knight Center is grateful to the Knight Foundation for this generous grant, which will allow us to start our third decade from a stronger position,” said Knight Center founder and director Rosental Alves, who holds the Knight Chair in International Journalism. “We will be able to expand our services to benefit thousands of journalists in the Americas and beyond, helping them navigate these times of rapid changes in media amid the digital revolution.”
The grant will support Knight Center’s three main initiatives: its pioneering online learning program, which has reached more than 275,000 students from 200 countries and territories; its annual International Symposium on Online Journalism, which fosters dialogue, research and peer-to-peer learning on the evolution of journalism in the digital era; and its LatAm Journalism Review, a trilingual digital magazine that features original reporting on the news industry and press freedom issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Center will also expand its small team of staffers to elevate the quality and impact of its programming.
“We are eager to build upon this impactful work to promote journalism excellence in the digital age,” said Mallary Tenore, associate director of the Knight Center. “This new grant will equip us with the resources we need to continue providing journalists with free and low-cost training, events, and publications that they can’t find elsewhere.”
The Knight Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Knight Center, dating back to its inception in 2002. In addition to this most recent grant, the foundation has given more than $4 million to both help Professor Alves found the center and to expand its footprint and its digital efforts. Alves said the contribution is a reminder of the Knight Center’s accomplishments thus far, including helping journalists advance in their careers through new disciplines, such as data analysis, mental health support, fact-checking and more.
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, the Knight Center heard from countless journalists who shared stories about how they’ve become entrepreneurs and created their own news startups after participating in its programs.
“The Knight Center has had an immeasurable impact on the field of journalism for more than 20 years,” said Moody College of Communication Dean Jay Bernhardt. “With this generous grant from the Knight Foundation, I am excited to see their even greater impact on global journalism. We are grateful for the Knight Foundation’s support and long-time partnerships with Moody College.”
