Julie Menter

[Commentary] I see two main opportunities to make media more informative, delightful and inspiring of action:
1) Change media’s ad-driven business model: Can revenue be connected to trust and community building, instead of audience size and amount of content published? Instead of breadth, can business models encourage depth and time well-spent?
2) Harness social media for 2-way conversations: How can we use different formats and communications channels to make stories more engaging and more authentic? How can we elevate new voices and bringing richer, more diverse perspectives to the table?

[Julie Menter is Principal at New Media Ventures]

We are excited to announce the 6th Open Call for the New Media Ventures Innovation Fund! New Media Ventures is a seed fund and network of investors and donors financing media and technology startups that build advocacy movements, create new narratives and drive civic engagement. Over the past 6 years, we have financed such powerful social change startups as Upworthy, responsible for making social good content go viral, and SumOfUs, a 10 million member movement for corporate accountability. The New Media Ventures Innovation Fund finances early-stage, for-profit and nonprofit startups with $50K, participation in NMV’s startup support program and access to NMV’s network of angel investors. We are particularly interested in projects in the following categories:
Organizing newly politicized people. This could include organizations that are effectively blending national reach via digital tools with local impact via on-the-ground organizing but also best-in-class technology that can help organizations do that work.
Building better media. We are looking for ways to burst filter bubbles, fight fake news and dark influence. We also want to hear about new business models that reward quality and engagement, solutions that elevate new voices with more diverse perspectives, and creative distribution strategies.