The Lilly Endowment announced one of the largest religion journalism grants in decades, the long-anticipated Global Religion Journalism Initiative.
The $4.9 million package will go to the Religion News Foundation for an 18-month startup phase. The collaborative will involve the Associated Press, Religion News Service and The Conversation US.
Lilly reported “The initiative will establish a coordinated strategy for reporting on religion and increase significantly the number and reach of high-quality stories about religious faith and practice and the impact of religion in the United States and around the globe.”
The grant is to support:
- A collaborative religion desk at the AP
- More reporters dedicated to religion
- Enhanced capacities to produce and distribute video through digital and social media
- A new weekly news series focused on religion and faith
- A Web-based news channel focused on religion
- Enhancement of the AP and RNS for distributing religious content
The three news organizations are to test strategies for revenue streams needed to make these efforts self-sustaining.
— Joe Grimm