California: Arts & Public Media Grant

Recognizing the importance of nonprofit media to the state’s cultural ecosystem, the California Arts Council (CAC) is launching this year a new $200,000 Arts and Public Media Program. Through the program, CAC will award grants to nonprofit media organizations for the production and programming of multiplatform media projects that engage Californians with authentic local stories and experiences centered on the value of arts, culture and creative expression. The new program is based on CAC’s experience running its previous Arts on Air pilot program. CAC created Arts on Air in 2013 along with five other programs supported by an extra $2 million in one-time funds from the California State Assembly. After two years and a $350,000 investment in seven nonprofit radio and television stations, CAC suspended the pilot to assess its impact. CAC’s evaluation of it—which included surveys of funders of public media, interviews, and the June 2016 California Arts and Public Media Summit, where nonprofit media leaders identified challenges and opportunities related to covering the arts—culminated in a report, Nonprofit Media Coverage of the Arts in California, framing recommendations for CAC’s new Arts & Public Media Program. For more information, contact CAC Communications Director Caitlin Fitzwater.