Charitable Foundation Launches Jazz Media Lab

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced the launch of the Jazz Media Lab, through which some of the country’s most dynamic and forward-thinking nonprofit jazz radio stations will receive more than $1.3 million to participate in a program aimed at bolstering their individual strength and collective resilience as essential players in the jazz ecosystem. 

KMHD (Oregon Public Broadcasting) in Portland, Ore., KNKX (Pacific Public Media) in Tacoma/Seattle, Wash., KUVO (Rocky Mountain Public Media) in Denver, Colo., WBGO (Newark Public Radio) in Newark, N.J. and WRTI (Temple University) in Philadelphia, Pa. will each receive grants of up to $275,000 over three years to support their involvement in the collective, and supply them with core support and innovation capital. 

DoriThe Jazz Media Lab program will also provide these stations with a peer network, support system and contracted resource team for exploring and advancing strategies to diversify their listening bases, invest in new media platforms, engage with venues and community organizations, and establish meaningful relationships with jazz artists.

“We’re thrilled to launch the Jazz Media Lab with this cohort of leaders in the field of jazz radio,” said Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at DDCF. “Jazz radio plays an essential role in supporting the field of jazz, a vital art form with a rich history embedded in the fabric of this country and an exciting, evolving future. These stations have always been critical partners to artists and venues, and never has that been truer than today, as they’ve served as the central platform for connecting artists with audiences and for voicing issues affecting musicians and venues during the pandemic. As the largest national funder of jazz, we are dedicated to helping ensure the sustained vibrancy of jazz, one of very few contemporary art forms original to the U.S. This program is a pivotal piece of that greater commitment.”