Dear VC members, friends, and collaborators,

We’ve got some monumental news. Today, we are thrilled to announce a set of major steps forward for VC, for the field of video journalism, and for you — all made possible thanks to a generous investment from Knight Foundation.

With Knight’s support, made in alignment with Press Forward (a national funding initiative established to revitalize local news), VC will expand our capacity to deepen impact and strengthen video as a core component of local journalism over the next three years:

• As we continue to support, connect, and train video journalists and documentary filmmakers, we will now work directly with local newsrooms and publishing platforms across the United States, helping them use video to increase impact and engagement in the communities they serve.
• Additionally, the Video Consortium will host an in-person annual celebration of video journalism and documentary film. With a solutions-focused approach, our video community — those working at all levels of the industry — will convene to contemplate the present, and look to and imagine the future, of journalism. The inaugural gathering is set to take place in early 2025.

Across the U.S., we are at a pivotal moment: 20 percent of Americans live in news deserts, with little access to reliable local reporting; in just the past 15 years, a quarter of U.S. newspapers have gone out of business; as connections within communities weaken, the vital social ties that knit us all together are showing threads. We know that news is vital, and in our visual-centric world, video is an integral tool for democratically and effectively reaching audiences.

Ironically, while visual-first stories are more necessary than ever, many of those who’ve been hit hardest in waves of recent layoffs are the very people who bring such stories to life. Video is a mainstay, and this grant will help ensure it is powerfully utilized so newsrooms can sustainably forge into the future to effectively reach the next generation and those who, increasingly, may not otherwise get their news through the written word.

As the industry’s leader at the intersection of video journalism and documentary film, VC is perfectly positioned to help make this happen.

We are immensely grateful to Knight Foundation for its partnership, belief in our vision, and integral support of our work. In addition, we want to thank our other funders for their support of our locally rooted, globally driven mission: the Skoll Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Above all, this momentous step forward would not be possible without the hundreds of talented and passionate community organizers who, for the past nine years, have and continue to dedicate their time and talent to bringing our growing community into the future. VC is the people who are telling today’s most important stories and convening in the name of a more cohesive media ecosystem.

The Video Consortium is, now and forever, a connector: a place for creatives to find their people, for individuals and entities to garner knowledge to move society forward, a nexus to hire and get hired, a marketplace for ideas and inspiration. We cannot wait to do more of all of this, with you!

Onwards,

Sky Dylan-Robbins
Founder and Executive Director

May, 2024