The Kirkpatrick Foundation has awarded a $20,000 grant to Local Media Foundation to assist the Oklahoma Media Center collaborative with a data journalist for its Promised Land project.
In 2021, OMC chose the Promised Land subject to cover the affirmation of tribal sovereignty after the Supreme Court’s landmark McGirt v Oklahoma ruling last year.
Kirkpatrick Foundation is an Oklahoma City-based philanthropy supporting arts, culture, education, animal well-being, environmental conservation and historic preservation.
“We are excited to support innovative media in Oklahoma,” said Louisa McCune, executive director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation. “Civic education and responsible journalism are the keys to uniting our state and country, and the Oklahoma Media Center is a giant step in the right direction.”
In August, OMC hired Joey Stipek to work as a contract data journalist. A 2015 graduate from the University of Oklahoma in journalism with an online emphasis, Stipek was a data reporting intern at Oklahoma Watch and previously worked as digital editor with The Oklahoman.
In September, Stipek shared a McGirt v Oklahoma timeline he built for OMC news organizations to host on their websites.
“Joey is passionate about data journalism,” said Rob Collins, OMC project manager. “He will be available as a resource for our Promised Land topic and will help complement and supplement news content for our collaborators.”
About the Oklahoma Media Center
Launched by Inasmuch and the LMA in 2020, the Oklahoma Media Center is a collaborative of print, digital and broadcast news organizations. The OMC offers best-practices journalism training and content collaboration, and helps fund new revenue and audience engagement experiments.
Managed by Local Media Foundation, OMC is funded by the Inasmuch Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Democracy Fund. OMC is working to establish its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status in 2021.
OMC’s mission is to support and strengthen Oklahoma’s local journalism ecosystem and spur innovation through statewide collaboration that benefits diverse audiences.
About Local Media Association/Local Media Foundation
Local Media Association brings all media together to share, network, collaborate and more. More than 3,000 newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, directories, digital-only publications, and research and development partners engage with LMA as members or constituents of our programs.
As a 501(c)(6) trade association, LMA is laser-focused on helping local media of all kinds and sizes achieve their business goals. Its events, clubs, programs and labs focus on sustainability and growth of media revenue streams.
Local Media Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust that serves as the innovation and transformation affiliate of LMA. Incorporating our four strategic pillars — business transformation, journalism funded by philanthropy, industry collaboration and sustainability for publishers of color — LMF helps provide local media companies the strategies and resources for meaningful innovation and impactful journalism.
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