MISSION
The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism supports the development and production of independent news. BINJ achieves its mission by: providing organizational support to community publications; running reporting collaborations and civic engagement initiatives; training promising journalists; and producing bold independent journalism.
MODEL
BINJ contracts with reporters of all types to produce multimedia projects and features. We operate with rigor and drill hard on difficult issues, while structurally BINJ relies on a vast network of independent media makers (of various skill levels and interests) and distributes through a matrix of deeply-rooted commonwealth press institutions — from scrappy outer-borough weeklies to local blogs and podcasts.
Our model is designed to yield projects that step back to glimpse the big picture. Resources are scant in the alternative and community press, but thanks to our supporters and reporters BINJ is able to help small and independent outlets punch above their weight and make an impact on a landscape that is increasingly dominated by elite entities.
The BINJ model is currently being used in other cities including Little Rock and Santa Fe, and with help from the Reva and David Logan Foundation our crew has compiled something we call “BINJ-in-a-Box,” an instructive road map for those looking to incubate media in any town, city, or subject area where independent journalism is on life support.
MORE BACKGROUND: The origins of BINJ
TEAM BIOS
Executive Director Jason Pramas is a longtime photojournalist, editor, and educator. He is editor-in-chief of BINJ’s news outlet HorizonMass. The institutional memory of our gang, Jason writes the award-winning column Apparent Horizon and has a CV that is several pages long with highlights that include his founding the nonprofit online metro newsweekly Open Media Boston and producing the massive 2004 Boston Social Forum. Formerly a labor and community activist, he holds an MFA in visual arts.
Editorial Director Chris Faraone is a longtime journalist and editor. He is editor-at-large of BINJ’s news outlet HorizonMass. A Boston Phoenix alumnus and native of Queens, he has dedicated his adult life to boosting the alternative media and has published several books as well as longform features in Buzzfeed, Columbia Journalism Review, and Esquire, among other notable outlets.
Operations Director John Loftus founded the online stations UNregular Radio and DigRadio and has experience in A/V production and management. He has developed several websites for BINJ and other organizations on multiple platforms.
Development Consultant Linda Pinkow is a longtime journalist, editor, and nonprofit fundraiser.
TRANSPARENCY
Editorial Independence Policy
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.
Donor & Financial Transparency
We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.
Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.
Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
Ethics Policy
The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism abides by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics in all the journalism we produce.
2021-2023 Massachusetts Media Fund, Inc. Board of Directors
Zakiya Alake. A Boston-based African-American activist and small business owner; she is interested primarily in housing and socioeconomic issues, and was trained as a community journalist by BINJ through its journalism education program for working adults.
G. Valentino Ball. A Boston-based African-American cultural curator, journalist and content creator. Director of content and production for the King Boston memorial project at the Boston Foundation. Co-founder and editor at KBX Media, a Boston-based digital editorial platform and media content creation.
Chris Faraone. BINJ editorial director and founder. Also editor-at-large of HorizonMass.
John Loftus. BINJ operations director and founder.
Jason Pramas. BINJ executive director and founder. Also editor-in-chief of HorizonMass.
Felicia Sullivan. Boston-based associate research director of Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit; holds a PhD in public policy.
Saul Tannenbaum. A retired computer programmer, former community journalist, and current telecom policy activist living in Cambridge.
Donors Over $5,000 (FY 2022 and FY 2023)
In the interest of keeping our funding transparent to the public we serve as journalists, Massachusetts Media Fund, Inc. d/b/a Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism lists all donations over $5,000.
Reva & David Logan Foundation, $115,000
INN NewsMatch/Miami Foundation, $29,000
Bil Lewis, $25,000
T. Finn, $20,000
Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation, $10,000
David Halstead, $6,000
Evan Falchuk, $5,000
