FAQ

Q. What is the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism?

It’s a fund created to promote high-quality, professional journalism in Alaska, with the added intent of increasing the public’s understanding of under-reported issues. The Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism is a fund sponsored by the Alaska Community Foundation, and funded by the Atwood Foundation.

 Q. How will it help?

The journalism initiative will provide grants to Alaska print and broadcast news organizations and individuals to assist with in-depth and investigative reporting, including encouraging collaborative efforts between news organizations. It also will work with the Alaska Press Club — and the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Journalism and Public Communications — to make training and education available to news organizations and individuals statewide.

Q. Why is it needed?

The economics of the news industry have been upended by the flow of advertising dollars to social media, putting a strain on newsrooms and reporting across Alaska. Democracy and informed public decisions depend on accurate, thorough and reliable information. The Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism wants to help with professional development and grants to preserve and expand Alaska’s history of quality news reporting.

Q. How did it get started?

A group that included working, teaching and retired journalists began meeting informally in 2018, looking for ways to help newsrooms expand their coverage of unreported issues and get more professional training. The Atwood Foundation, whose roots are in Alaska journalism, offered to help. The group coalesced into a board of directors, received funding from the Atwood Foundation, signed up with the Alaska Community Foundation for administrative services, and plans to distribute its first grants in early 2020.

Q. What is the Atwood Foundation?

Robert and Evangeline Atwood established the Atwood Foundation in 1962. Bob Atwood owned and published the Anchorage Times from 1935 until the paper closed in 1992. Evangeline Atwood, a journalist and author, founded many of Anchorage’s leading civic and arts institutions. Evangeline Atwood died in 1987; Bob Atwood passed away in 1997. 

Q. What is the grant application process?

Applications are accepted during publicized application periods. Applications will be accepted online through the journalism initiative’s website at the Alaska Community Foundation. The maximum grant is $25,000. Grants may be used to cover out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, document collection, equipment rental and stipends for specific services such as data analysis or editing. A three-member committee of distinguished Alaska and Outside journalists will select the winning grant recipients based on the merits of their proposed projects, the applicants’ experience and the importance of the topic to the statewide community.