FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: fac@firstamendmentcoalition.org
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has committed $1,650,000 to FAC over the next three years. This grant will expand FAC’s support for local journalists and allow us to launch a financial and fundraising strategy to ensure continued success and stability.
“We are humbled and honored to receive this transformative grant from Knight Foundation. It comes at a critical time for California and our nation, as journalism faces daunting challenges on many fronts,” said FAC Executive Director David Snyder. “Democracy depends on strong, fearless journalism; FAC’s work supporting local journalists is more crucial than ever. We are profoundly grateful to Knight for supporting FAC’s work to shore up our democracy.”
The grant will empower FAC to deliver its unique, successful, and proven model — a locally based and comprehensive toolbox of resources for journalists — to more journalists throughout California.
The unmet need is undeniable. In four months in 2023-24, FAC had to turn away 39 matters for lack of staffing — legal representations that could have vindicated journalists’ (and the public’s) right of access to records, meetings, and court proceedings, as well as important First Amendment rights and rights under California’s journalist shield law.
With the support of Knight Foundation, FAC is ready to tackle these legal matters while also ensuring journalists working in a shifting media landscape have access to high-quality tutorials, workshops, guides, and other tools for accessing public records and government proceedings.
“For almost four decades, FAC has been a strong First Amendment defender in the nation’s most populous state, but recent years have produced a case volume that has stretched resources,” said Jim Brady, Knight’s vice president of journalism. “This grant will assure that more legal representation will be available to support local journalists across California, and will also help FAC as it tries to strengthen its own long-term sustainability.”
Leveraging the Knight grant, FAC will create three new positions in 2025 to support local journalists. These positions will include:
A Senior Staff Attorney to expand FAC’s ability to represent journalists and others seeking access to government records and meetings, and journalists facing subpoenas for their confidential sources or notes.
A Press Education Manager will grow FAC’s educational programs for journalists.
A Programs Coordinator: This position will support outreach and execution of FAC’s education programming and, as necessary, support other programmatic areas.
About Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at KF.org.