About our grantmaking
MacArthur supports the production and distribution of news and documentary programs for television, radio, and the web that help inform the American public about important domestic and international current affairs and policy issues.
Latest news
January 26, 2012
Food for 9 Billion examines the difficulty of feeding the world in the face of growing populations, shrinking resources, and changing diets. MacArthur grantees Homeland Productions, PBS NEWSHOUR , the Center for Investigative Reporting, , and American Public Media’s Marketplaceare working together on this project, which debuted in January with a video segment on the NEWSHOUR and a radio feature on Marketplace and will continue with additional reports throughout 2012. More »
January 11, 2012
Renowned journalist Bill Moyers returns from retirement to host a new MacArthur-supported show, Moyers & Company, which will feature interviews with leading thinkers and influential figures in politics and business. The first three shows will focus on growing income inequality in the United States. Moyers is also establishing himself digitally with the launch of a new website, BillMoyers.com. Moyer's last program, Bill Moyers Journal, ended in April 2010 and also received MacArthur support. More »
January 5, 2012
Ten NBC-owned television stations are partnering with several MacArthur-supported nonprofit news organizations – ProPublica, The Chicago Reporter, and the Chicago News Cooperative – to help strengthen their enterprise and analytical reporting. More »
September 28, 2011
The Foundation is supporting eight new projects that illuminate serious issues in approachable, creative, and engaging ways. Read the press release »
Media Grantmaking, Press Releases
July 26, 2011
This MacArthur-supported film follows three violence interrupters, members of CeaseFire, who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories, as they try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. Shot over the course of a year by Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period when Chicago was besieged by high-profile incidents and became a national symbol for the violence in American cities. Watch the trailer »
Community & Economic Development
July 20, 2011
ProPublica, Independent Lens, ITVS, PBS FRONTLINE, and POV — all MacArthur grantees — received a combined 30 Emmy nominations in 2011. The media organizations were nominated for stories on a range of topics, including the oil spill in the Gulf, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, justice system in Mexico, and Hurricane Katrina. More »
Video
Sign up 
Phone: (312) 726-8000