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John Palfrey is chairman of the MacArthur Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. In an interview with News, he explains why philanthropists should spend some money on journalism and why not everyone is willing to expose themselves to media events like the late Red Bull billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz.
In a stylish brick building on Hermannstrasse in Berlin’s Neukölln district, John Palfrey shook our hands and chatted for a while. An American coming to start a project.
The Media Forward Fund will reportedly provide millions of euros in funding for non-profit journalism in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Palfrey is president of the multi-billion dollar private MacArthur Foundation, which is also involved. In the United States, he helped found the US initiative Press Forward. The campaign raised $500 million from more than 60 donors to revitalize local journalism in some parts of the country.
Journalism: You say that whatever a philanthropist’s first priority is, his second priority should be journalism. How do you convince wealthy people to do that?
John Palfrey: Democracy depends on journalism. If we don’t have a system for sharing important facts, it’s hard to achieve anything that’s in the public interest. If you believe that humans are having an impact on climate change, you can do something about it. If we can’t agree that a COVID-19 vaccine will offer us some protection, or that a cancer intervention will improve our health, then we can’t do anything about it. Our democracy is under threat, and our ability to work on pressing issues depends on high-quality journalism.
What is your primary concern about philanthropists spending money on journalism projects?
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