The news media plays a critical role in how decision makers, influential thought leaders, and the public understand issues that are vital to the future of our state. It spreads the narratives and lifts up the voices that shape not only what we think, but how.

In the past, news coverage of public higher education in California has often been limited to reporting on politics and controversial events. Few outlets provided nuanced or analytical reporting. As a result, audiences had limited understanding of why it is important to improve higher education in our state and how best to achieve that.

We aim to help build momentum for change in mindset, policy, and practice about higher education by investing in media. With our news media grantmaking, we seek to improve news coverage of higher education and student outcomes, more deeply and actively engage audiences, contribute to a stronger and more diverse pipeline of journalists covering higher education, lift up diverse voices, and ground news coverage in the lived experiences of different students from a range of backgrounds, regions, and college types.