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MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY PROJECT
NEW YORK, NY · EIN 932405011 · Form 990 · FY2025 · NTEE R99 · Civil Rights & Advocacy · Micro (<$100K)
revenue
$40K
expenses
$36K
net assets
$18K
employees
0
volunteers
30
program ratio
92%
mission · from form 990

MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY PROJECT INC. BELIEVES A WELL-INFORMED CITIZENRY IS THE FOUNDATION OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY. WE ADVOCATE FOR MEDIA REFORM AND EMPOWER PEOPLE WITH TOOLS TO TAKE MEANINGFUL ACTION.

profile · synthesized from sources

Media and Democracy Project advocates for media reform and supports a well-informed citizenry as foundational to democracy. The organization runs public education initiatives, including monthly meetings, workshops, and special events, to inform and activate the public on press-related issues. It also supports local and independent journalism through advocacy, directories, and coalition-building, particularly in New York State.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2025

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $9K
    MEDIA EDUCATION AND ADVOCACYMAD'S CORE ACTIVITIES ARE PUBLIC ONLINE EVENTS TO INFORM, EDUCATE AND ACTIVATE OUR MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC ON PRESS-RELATED ISSUES. WE HELD 12 REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS, 5 SPECIAL EVENTS AND 10 WORKSHOPS AND OTHER SMALLER MEETINGS. AT ALL OF THESE EVENTS, WE PROVIDE ESSENTIAL INFORMATION, HIGHLIGHT THOUGHT LEADERS AND HEROIC ACTIONS, AND ENCOURAGE ATTENDEES TO ACT. TOTAL REGISTRATION FOR THESE MEETINGS EXCEEDED 7,000 INCLUDING A SCREENING OF A FILM AND A DISCUSSION WITH THE FILM'S DIRECTOR, WITH OVER 500 ATTENDEES. WE HAVE AN ACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA, OUR BLOG AND PUBLISH IN EXTERNAL, EDITED PUBLICATIONS. OUR BLOG HAS OVER 9,000 SUBSCRIBERS
  2. #2 $3K
    SUPPORT OF LOCAL AND INDEPENDENT NEWS ORGANIZATIONSMAD ALSO INCREASED OUR ACTIVITY IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL JOURNALISM IN 2025. WE EXPANDED OUR LOCAL JOURNALISM DIRECTORY TO OVER 2,200 NEWS OUTLETS WORTH READING AND SUPPORTING. THE DIRECTORY WAS FEATURED IN THE #2 ACTION TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY ON A LIST OF 29 FROM PROTECT DEMOCRACY. WE ALSO HELD TWO SPECIAL EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL NEWS AND ADVOCATED FOR STATE LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS AS WELL AS PROMOTING IT ACTIVELY IN OUR REGULAR MEETINGS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOGS. WE WERE ASKED TO CO-LEAD A NY STATE BASED COALITION TO ORGANIZE STAKEHOLDERS ON LOCAL MEDIA POLICY.
named programs · 2 · from sources

What they call their work

Media Education and Advocacy
Hosts monthly public meetings, workshops, and special events to educate and activate participants on press-related issues; includes film screenings, expert discussions, and calls to action. Reached over 7,000 registrants in 2025.
Support of Local and Independent News Organizations
Maintains a directory of over 2,200 independent news outlets, advocates for state-level support of local journalism, and co-leads a New York State coalition on media policy.
activities · 3 groups

What they do

  • Free Expression Defense & Advocacy 2 activities
    • Advocacy for media reform and regulatory action
      Files formal petitions, comments, and legal actions with federal agencies such as the FCC to advocate for media accountability, license renewals, and regulatory reforms. Includes campaigns around election integrity, climate change coverage, and abortion rights reporting.
    • Capacity building for civic engagement in media accountability
      Develops and distributes tools such as the Letter to the Editor Rubric, hosts workshops, and provides resources to empower individuals to engage with media institutions and promote democratic values.
  • Nonprofit Investigative & Community Journalism 2 activities
    • Maintaining and expanding the Local Journalism Directory
      Curates and maintains a 50-state, searchable directory of over 2,200 nonprofit and local journalism outlets, evaluated based on accountability reporting, coverage of marginalized communities, and truth verification, to help the public find and support quality journalism.
    • Research on media representation and accountability
      Conducts data-driven research projects such as the Sunday Shows Project, which analyzes guest demographics, policy focus, and political accountability on major news programs. Publishes reports and findings to inform public discourse and advocacy.
  • Digital Communications and Content Management 1 activity
    • Public education through events, meetings, and digital outreach
      Hosts monthly meetings, special events, and workshops to educate and mobilize the public on media and democracy issues, with over 7,000 total registrations in a year. Maintains a blog with over 9,000 subscribers and publishes content via social media and external outlets.
financials · form 990 · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$40K
Contributions & grants$40K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$36K
Program expenses92%
Admin / overhead6%
Fundraising2%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$103
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$18K
Cash$17K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$18K
Liquid reserves5.7 mo
3 years on record · 2023–2025 · YoY revenue +152.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025

Who runs it

board members · 6
  • BRIAN HANSBURY — BOARD MEMBER
  • CAROLYN BARCLIFT — SECRETARY
  • ELEANOR H ATKINSON — BOARD MEMBER
  • JONATHAN REISS — CHAIR & TREASURER
  • MILO VASSALLO — EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
  • NOELLE PELLOWSKI — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 27

Who they work with

  • C-VILLE Weekly Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a local news outlet covering community issues in Charlottesville.
  • CTPost Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a local news outlet covering government accountability in Connecticut.
  • Center for Media and Democracy Partner — Co-signer organization represented among distinguished signers of the open letter
  • Documented Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet covering local immigrant communities and government accountability.
  • Downtown Nasty Women Social Group Partner — Co-hosted an event on political cartooning and democracy.
  • Federal Communications Commission Government — Filing petitions and applications to challenge broadcast license renewals and compel agency action.
  • Federal Communications Commission Government — Submitted a formal comment letter to the FCC advocating for media infrastructure reforms.
  • Federal Communications Commission Government — Submitted formal comments to the FCC as part of its Quadrennial Review process to influence media ownership policy.
  • Free Press Partner — Co-founded by Robert McChesney, a distinguished signer of the open letter
  • Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe Partner — Organization led by Eric Chenoweth, listed as a distinguished signer of the open letter
  • Markers For Democracy Partner — Co-hosted an event on political cartooning and democracy.
  • Media Action Center Partner — Featured speaker from the organization in an event on local TV news and FCC regulations.
  • Mississippi Today Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet holding political leaders accountable.
  • Mobilize.us Partner — Platform used to organize and host meetings.
  • NY State-based coalition Coalition — Co-leads a New York state-based coalition to organize stakeholders on local media policy.
  • New Bedford Light Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet investigating corporate practices affecting local industries.
  • New Media Ventures Partner — Organization led by Carlissia Graham, listed as a distinguished signer of the open letter
  • PROTECT DEMOCRACY Partner — Collaborates with Protect Democracy, as evidenced by the inclusion of MAD's Local Journalism Directory in a list of 29 actions to protect democracy.
  • Republican Accountability Project Partner — Used grading data from the Republican Accountability Project to identify Sunday show guests who supported the January 6th insurrection.
  • Seniors Taking Action Partner — Co-hosted an event on political cartooning and democracy.
  • Substack Partner — Hosts the organization's blog on the Substack platform.
  • Substack Partner — Platform used for publishing content and engaging audience through a newsletter.
  • Tampa Bay Times Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet conducting investigative reporting on public health and safety issues.
  • The Frontier Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet investigating injustice and legal system failures.
  • The Inquirer Partner — Featured in the Local Journalism Directory as a news outlet exposing public health hazards such as asbestos in schools.
  • The Wednesday Group Partner — Co-hosted an event on political cartooning and democracy.
  • TruthTuesdays.org Partner — Co-hosted a screening and discussion on Fox News propaganda.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Accountability Through Institutional Leverage
    methodology: regulatory-accountability
    By using formal regulatory proceedings, judicial review, and research synthesis to enforce FCC standards and advocate for ownership rules, the organization holds media institutions accountable, because systemic change requires leveraging legal and policy mechanisms grounded in empirical evidence.
  • Civic Engagement as Core to Media Reform
    methodology: civic_participation
    By engaging citizens in volunteer-driven research, public events with experts, and grassroots advocacy, the organization drives structural media change, because sustained reform requires public ownership and participation rather than expert-only intervention.
  • Expert-Centered Public Discourse
    methodology: expert-centered media
    By replacing political pundits with subject-matter experts in media formats and public dialogues, the organization enhances public understanding of policy issues, because expertise—not partisanship—should anchor national conversations on critical topics like climate and health.
  • Journalism as a Democratic Immune System
    methodology: journalism-as-immune-system
    By treating local journalism as a systemic protector that detects and responds to community threats—like an immune system—the organization strengthens democracy through early identification and correction of misinformation, corruption, and civic risks, because this functional framing enables proactive defense rather than reactive critique.
  • Pro-Democracy Framing in Media Coverage
    methodology: anti-false-equivalence framing
    By advocating for a pro-democracy bias in election reporting and rejecting false equivalence between democratic upholders and anti-democratic actors, the organization improves public understanding of existential threats to democracy, because moral clarity in media framing prevents normalization of democratic erosion.