The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, United States. The school is the owner of the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Network. It also operates

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times ...

History

Foundation

The school began on May 29, 1975, when

Nelson Poynter Nelson Poynter (1903–1978) was an American publisher and media proprietor. He was the owner of the Times Publishing Company, and the co-founder of the ''Congressional Quarterly''. He is the namesake of the Poynter Institute. Early life Poynter ...

, the owner and chairman of the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute f ...

'' (now the ''Tampa Bay Times'') and

Times Publishing Company Times Publishing Company is a newspaper and magazine publisher. Its flagship publication is the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (formerly the ''St. Petersburg Times''), a daily newspaper serving the Tampa Bay area. It also publishes the business magazine '' Fl ...

, announced that he planned to start a small journalism school called the Modern Media Institute. In 1977, Nelson Poynter willed ownership of the Times Publishing Company to the Institute so that after his death the school would become the owner of the ''St. Petersburg Times''. The name of the school was changed to the "Poynter Institute" in 1984.

Expansion and development

Craig Newmark Craig Alexander Newmark (born December 6, 1952) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist. Before founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for IBM, Bank ...

(founder of

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussi ...

) is a board member of the Poynter Foundation and donated $1 million to it in 2015. In 2018, the Poynter Institute began a cooperation with the content recommendation network Revcontent, to stop misinformation and fake news in articles supplying Revcontent with

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

provided by their International Fact-Checking Network. January 11, 2018, the

Charles Koch Foundation The Koch family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles Koch Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created ...

's Director of Free Expression, Sarah Ruger, stated in an

American Society of News Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editing, editors, news director, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, Dean (education), deans or faculty at Journalism school, ...

news release that "The foundation supports many grantees committed to press freedom, including The Poynter Institute, the

Newseum The Newseum (April 18, 1997–March 3, 2002 and April 11, 2008–December 31, 2019) was an American museum located first in Rosslyn, Virginia, and later at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C., dedicated to news and journalism that ...

and

Techdirt Techdirt is an American Internet blog that reports on technology's legal challenges and related business and economic policy issues, in context of the digital revolution. It focuses on intellectual property, patent, information privacy and copyr ...

's free speech initiative." On February 12, 2018, the

, the for-profit branch of the

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Poynter institute spun off the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

–winning

website to form an independent division within Poynter. Since 2019, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' has been partnering with the Poynter Institute to increase diversity in media, with the goal to expand Poynter's annual Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media training journalists to become founders, top-level executives and innovators. Other sponsors are

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, the Scripps Howard Foundations,

Philanthropies, the

Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation (EEJF) was a grant-making foundation based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that provided grants to journalism institutions throughout the United States The United States of America (USA), also kno ...

and TEGNA Foundation. Poynter published a list of over 515 news websites that it labeled "unreliable" in 2019. The author of the piece used various

fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...

databases (including those curated by the

Annenberg Public Policy Center The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) is a center for the study of public policy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. It has offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, where the University of Pennsy ...

Merrimack College Merrimack College is a Private university, private Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. It en ...

, and

Snopes ''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...

) to compile the list and called on advertisers to "

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

" the included sites. The list included conservative news websites such as the ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...

'', ''

The Washington Free Beacon ''The Washington Free Beacon'' is an American political journalism website launched in 2012. The website identifies as conservative. Eliana Johnson is the website's editor-in-chief. The ''Free Beacon'' has broken stories about states using r ...

'', and ''

The Daily Signal The Daily Signal is an American conservative news and commentary website founded in June 2014. It focuses on politics, policy, and culture and offers political commentary from a conservative perspective. The Daily Signal was a project of the H ...

'' as well as conspiracy outfits including InfoWars. After backlash from both readers of and contributors to some of the included publications, Poynter retracted the list, citing "weaknesses in the methodology". Poynter issued a statement, saying: " regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication." ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' pointed out that the author was a freelancer hired by the Institute who typically works for the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

(SPLC). ''Reason'' drew parallels between the accuracy of the list with SPLC's own work on hate groups.

Election integrity and COVID-19

In 2020, after receiving funding from

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, the Poynter Institute expanded the MediaWise program with a national media literacy program called MediaWise Voter project (#MVP). Its goal was to reach 2 million American first-time voter college students, helping them to be better prepared and informed for the

2020 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

. The Poynter Institute received $737,400 in federal loans from the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. President Neil Brown noted that this was not the first time the institute received government funding, noting past training contracts with

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

Activities

International Fact-Checking Network

In 2015, the institute launched the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which sets a

code of ethics Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of b ...

for

organizations. The IFCN reviews fact-checkers for compliance with its code, and issues a

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

to publishers who pass the audit. The certification lasts for one year, and fact-checkers must be re-examined annually to retain their certifications.

has used the IFCN's certification to vet publishers for fact-checking contracts. In 2025, Facebook parent company

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

announced it would move away from using IFCN-certified fact checkers, and replace with "community notes", similar to what is done on the X social network. Membership has also been used to identify the reliability of a fact-checking organization. DW called it the most prominent fact-checking consortium. The IFCN and the

American Press Institute The American Press Institute is an educational non-advocacy 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization affiliated with the News Media Alliance (formerly the Newspaper Association of America). The institute's mission is to encourage the advancement of news ...

jointly publish ''Factually'', a

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

on fact-checking and journalism ethics. The IFCN also organizes Global Fact, a yearly conference on fact checking.

News University

News University (NewsU) is a project of the Poynter Institute that offers journalism training through methods including e-learning courses, webinars, and learning games. NewsU is funded by the

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

Awards

In 2023, the

News Leaders Association News Leaders Association (NLA) was a non-profit organization that focused on training and supporting journalists. It was formed by the 2019 merger of the American Society of News Editors and Associated Press Media Editors. History In 1922, the A ...

transferred stewardship of the NLA Awards to the Poynter Institute, who will administer the contest from 2024 onward, and the awards were renamed to The Poynter Journalism Prizes. That same year, Poynter announced the creation of a new prize in honor of

Roy Peter Clark Roy Peter Clark (born 1948) is an American writer, editor, and a writing coach. He is also senior scholar and vice president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the founder of the ...

called The Roy Peter Clark Award for Excellence in Short Writing.

Poynter Medal

Since 2015, the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism has been awarded by the Poynter Institute. Winners include: * 2015:

Bob Schieffer Bob Lloyd Schieffer (born February 25, 1937) is an American television journalist. He is known for his moderation of presidential debates, where he has been praised for his capability. Schieffer is one of the few journalists to have covered all f ...

, former CBS News anchor and host of ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and Sunday morning talk show, morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and Television broadcasting, television network. Created by Frank Stanton (executive), Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Fa ...

'' * 2016:

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

, former anchor of ''

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas'' for its weeknight broadcasts ) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network ...

'' * 2017:

Judy Woodruff Judy Carline Woodruff (born November 20, 1946) is an American broadcast journalist who has worked in local, network, cable, and public television news since 1970. She was the anchor and managing editor of the ''PBS NewsHour'' through the end of 20 ...

, anchor and managing editor of ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

'' * 2018:

Lester Holt Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist who was the news anchor for the weekday edition of ''NBC Nightly News,'' NBC Nightly News Kids Edition, and is currently news anchor for '' Dateline NBC''. On June 18, 2015, Ho ...

, anchor of ''

'' and ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

'' * 2019:

Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. Since 2016, she ha ...

, broadcast journalist, author and media entrepreneur * 2020:

Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 60-year care ...

, anchor of ''

Fox News Sunday ''Fox News Sunday'' is a Sunday morning talk show that has aired on the broadcast Fox network since 1996, as a presentation of Fox News Channel. It is the only regularly scheduled Fox News program carried on the main Fox broadcast network. Hos ...

'' * 2021:

Lesley Stahl Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's ''60 Minutes''. She is known for her ne ...

, correspondent for CBS News' ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' * 2022:

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...

and

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original ne ...

, investigative journalists * 2023:

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...

, broadcast journalist and political commentator for

* 2024: Robin Roberts, co-anchor of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

References

External links

* *
Members
of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) {{authority control 1975 establishments in Florida American journalism organizations Education in St. Petersburg, Florida Universities and colleges established in 1975 Fact-checking websites Journalism schools in the United States Tampa Bay Times Universities and colleges accredited by the Council on Occupational Education 501(c)(3) organizations