2024 will be a transformational year for MTC, with particular implications for our 375-person alumni network, including an in-person reunion in New York on December 5-6!

Late last fall we received approval of two major grants, enabling MTC’s most significant from/to’s to date to expand our impact.

The first grant is from the Google News Initiative. It’s helping us better understand alumni needs; build an alumni database, dynamic website, and LinkedIn page; offer insights and news through quarterly newsletters and content sessions; participate in industry conferences; and most importantly for you, an in-person reunion December 5-6 in New York City at GNI – our first since 2019!

The second grant will be from the Knight Foundation (Board-approved). It is a 3-year grant that offers tuition support for up to 10 Fellows per year, and helps build our own internal capacity.

It’s a huge help, as we’ve broadened our class composition from legacy news organizations to a rich blend of legacy, newer, and network organizations like INN, LION, Maynard, URL Media, and others – with incredible mutually reinforcing benefits to all. For example, 2023 Fellows David Scott and Jonathan Kealing worked out an arrangement (with GNI support) to provide AP’s election coverage to INN members. Boom!

These two investments by GNI and Knight support Part 1 of our 3-part challenge statement:

MTC is in the process of evolving from an annual, fellowship-focused program to a network organization with a deliberate, ongoing, and dynamic community of practice that includes current Fellows, our alumni, news support organizations, and the broader news ecosystem.

From a “program” to a “network.” For many years we have connected you, and you have connected yourselves as well – for serious, serious impact! Now we can be much more deliberate – with how we build the class, how we connect the community, roles alumni can play and services they can offer, and how/where we can have the most impact in industry transformation, with infrastructure to match.

Benjamin Wagner (‘14) will lead our efforts here, taking on the position of Director of MTC Community Engagement. He has boundless enthusiasm, creativity and commitment to the MTC community. Louise Spieler, former Associate Dean of the UNC School of Journalism, is providing invaluable guidance in building our own organizational capacity.

There are many thank-you’s in all this. Most of all, it is to you, for the general warmth, grace, and incredible commitment that marks this particular community.

All the Best, Charlie

Alumni Development News

As a component of the GNI agreement, MTC and News Revenue Hub partnered to survey Fellows about their program experience, and interest in ongoing engagement. More than a third of the program’s 375+ fellows responded. Overall results indicated a strong interest in:

• Alumni gatherings to re-connect with classmates and network across classes

• In-person coaching with classmates and colleagues

• 1:1 and organizational coaching

• Alumni contacts and access

In Q1, Benjamin and News Revenue Hub’s Mary Walter-Brown (‘16) conducted deep-dive alumni interviews to gain further insight. Feedback emphasized an opportunity for:

• Real world application of tools with actual, measurable outcomes

• Purposeful connection and matchmaking

• Regional programming and networking

Please email Benjamin with additional feedback, comments and suggestions.