About MPI

The mission of Media in the Public Interest is to:

  • support the civil society non-profit sector to interact more effectively with mainstream media
  • help develop new media projects that strengthen communities and report on social, community and environmental issues that affect people in their daily lives
  • assist journalists in covering the non-profit public interest community.

“The media’s job is to interest the public in the public interest,” said American educator John Dewey. MPI takes that charge very seriously and believes the strength of a democracy depends on informed citizens making educated decisions. With this in mind, MPI was founded in 2003 to enhance public debate and promote civic journalism by amplifying the often marginalized progressive perspective and grassroots non-profit voices that today are effectively cut out of the public dialogue by inserting them into mainstream media.

Through our strategic media trainings with national communications experts and participation in the Public News Service’s state news services, we build a shared long-term vision with demonstrable public opinion and public policy results. We build alliances with strategic partners and the grassroots movement, and use shared “core” messaging to move the American public and policy debate back to foundational democratic principles.