The Vice President of Journalism at the influential Florida-based journalism funder and supporter Knight Foundation, will join a panel convened by the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI) at next month’s Philanthropy Australia national conference.

PIJI’s research shows that a not-for-profit news sector could increase media diversity and help build sustainable new financial models.

“Public interest journalism is essential to the workings of democracy and transparency,” explains PIJI CEO Anna Draffin.

“The federal government’s election promise to double philanthropic giving by 2030 presents unique opportunities to support diversity and plurality in an industry that has been in decline for the last decade with the breakdown of its traditional advertising-based financial model.

“But how can philanthropists gauge the impact of their support? We will look at how public interest journalism can be a catalyst for social change and equality and deepen our understanding of how to leverage support in early-stage growth to accelerate and deepen impact. We will also examine what the Australian philanthropic sector can learn from the rise of NFP news models globally.”

The topic for the conference session, which will run at 2:30pm on September 8 is, “Lessons from funders: evaluating impact and advocacy”.

Knight Foundation VP of Journalism Jim Brady will be joined by Nick Fairfax of the Jibb Foundation, Leslie Falkiner Rose of Ruffin Falkiner Foundation and PIJI CEO Anna Draffin. The session will be moderated by Guardian Australia media reporter Amanda Meade.