March 20, 2023 | Stories
In February, WF’s President and CEO Shelly Prichard, Chief Strategy Officer Courtney Bengtson and Board Chair Debbie Gann represented Wichita at the Knight Media Forum in Miami. The conference is the largest annual convening of journalists, funders and leaders passionately concerned about the health of the news media.
The forum spanned two inspiring days of deep discussion and provocative debate on the future of journalism and its importance to democracy. Our team connected with many familiar faces from the world of philanthropy, news publishing and civic engagement to explore ways to strengthen informed and engaged communities.
Through plenary sessions and breakouts, attendees discussed topics such as racial healing, local news startups, business sustainability, technology and new media platforms. WF’s Bengtson facilitated a session on how StoryCorps’ One Small Step is partnering with foundations to bring community members together.
These interactions and ideas power our Foundation to create a more informed city by strengthening Wichita’s local news ecosystem through our News and Information Fund.
“An informed and participatory community allows citizens’ voices to be heard, addressed and included in solutions,” said Bengtson. “It’s time to revive dialogue between communities and power structures. For far too long, our country has made decisions for people rather than with them.”
