The Pivot Fund Pod

In this episode, Tracie Powell speaks with John Adams, founder of Local News Day and Montana Free Press, about a new national effort to reconnect communities with trusted local news.They discuss the growing gap between trust and visibility in local journalism, why hyperlocal outlets — especially those serving underrepresented communities — are often overlooked, and how Local News Day aims to bring them into the spotlight.The conversation explores how the initiative works, what success looks like, and why audience engagement is key to sustaining local news.Plus, Adams shares powerful examples of how local reporting helps communities understand the real-life impact of national issues.

In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, host Haeven Gibbons talks with MLK50’s Co-Executive Directors, Ayanna Watkins and Adrienne Martin, about how co-leadership strengthens justice-centered journalism, deepens accountability to community needs, and helps prevent burnout in local news. They share how their lived experiences shape their roles, how shared decision-making works day to day, and what other community outlets can learn from MLK50’s approach. This episode offers a thoughtful, candid look at why shared leadership is more than a structure — it’s a strategy for sustainability.The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

In this episode of the Pivot Fund Pod, Tracie Powell, founder and CEO of The Pivot Fund, speaks with Oscar Guevara from MG News. When veteran reporter Mario Guevara was detained by ICE, Atlanta’s Hispanic community lost a vital source of trusted news and information. In this webinar, The Pivot Fund CEO Tracie Powell sits down with Mario’s son, Oscar Guevara, to discuss what it has taken to keep MG News running in his father’s absence. Together, they explore how the arrest has affected both the newsroom and the community it serves, what the experience reveals about the importance of trusted local media, and the ongoing challenges of journalist safety. This conversation is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, Tracie Powell, founder and CEO of The Pivot Fund, speaks with Myers Reece, an Asian American journalist and leader of Underscore Native News, a newsroom focused on indigenous-centered journalism in the Pacific Northwest. They discuss the challenges and insights of leading a newsroom dedicated to a community different from one's own, building trust and the importance of representation in media. Reece shares his experiences in navigating his role with humility, his strategies for building community trust and the organizational growth through dedicated work and strategic funding. The conversation delves into the dynamics of leadership, engagement, accountability and the future vision for Underscore Native News. This conversation is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org. 

In this episode of The Pivot Fund Pod, CEO Tracie Powell talks with media entrepreneur and independent journalist Georgia Fort about her successful news outlet BLCK Press, her nonprofit work at the Center for Broadcast Journalism to grow the next generation of journalists, and how she is thinking strategically about trust and the media landscape of the future from her home state of Minnesota.  This conversation is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  The Pivot Fund is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to investing $500 million into independent BIPOC-led community news outlets through grantmaking, development support, and strategic consulting. For more information on The Pivot Fund, visit www.thepivotfund.org.