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Craig Newmark explains why he’s pulling back on funding journalism

Nieman Lab · Sarah Scire · last updated

Craig Newmark, the early web pioneer best known for starting Craigslist, has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into journalism. But in an interview last week with Ben Gose at The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Newmark said he is pulling back from news.

“A lot of my efforts haven’t been as effective as I’d like them to be,” Newmark told Gose.

The gifts from Craig Newmark Philanthropies have been seismic for some news organizations. Newmark’s grants in journalism include $20 million to launch The Markup, $2.5 million to WNYC, and grants to The Correspondent, ProPublica, Mother Jones, The 19th, The City, The Forward, and Hell Gate, among others. (The Markup launched after a tumultuous beginning and, under new leadership, was acquired by CalMatters in 2024.) He’s also given $30 million to the J-school at the City University of New York — now named the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism — with the aim of eventually making the school tuition-free.

Newmark says he’s no longer a billionaire, thanks to his giving, and has pledged to give away more than half his fortune in his lifetime. He will focus his philanthropic efforts on cybersecurity and helping military families and veterans moving forward. (“I’m an old-school nerd helping to protect the people who protect our country,” his philanthropy’s site reads.) He has also supported pigeons.

But I was curious — what lessons did Newmark learn from spending nearly $200 million in journalism? What does he count among his “mistakes”? We went back and forth via email on Friday. Our conversation has been lightly edited.

Sarah Scire: What do you wish you had known earlier about funding journalism?

Craig Newmark: I really didn’t understand that audience development and related marketing needed to be a really big deal for everyone in journalism, and didn’t understand that very few really good journalists were aware of that, but I’ve started discussing that in maybe every engagement.

Also, I’ve only recently understood the danger, reputationally and otherwise, that effective journalists face, but I’ve started discussing that in maybe every engagement. I’m still directing some resources to real efforts to keep them safe.

Scire: What questions should other individuals (and/or foundations) ask of projects in the journalism space before giving?

Newmark: Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?

Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors?

Scire: You mentioned the successes at Wikipedia, Newmark J-School, and The Forward. What stands out about those three?

Newmark: In particular, Wikipedia has an effective self-healing corrections mechanism and great audience development.

The J-school provides a great, affordable education for real New Yorkers and others, and they get good jobs covering important things.

The Forward looks like the best, most honest source of news for the Jewish community nationally, and in particular, regarding actual antisemitism.

Scire: I can think of The Markup, The 19th, The Correspondent, and some NYC local media such as The City and Hellgate as some other journalism grants you’ve made. Are there others that you are thinking about? What lessons did you learn from those projects — either specifically or generally?

Newmark: No one new that I can figure. I’ve learned to appreciate a serious attitude that combines real journalism with bite and some comedy.

Scire: Anything else Nieman Lab readers should know about this topic?

Newmark: Seriously, think a lot about audience development and safety.

Photo of Craig Newmark by Flickr user achituv used under a Creative Commons license.
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