The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY has appointed John Thornton as our inaugural Senior Fellow.
Thornton is a leader in non-profit news and the future of local journalism. He founded the Pulitzer prize-finalist Texas Tribune, the first statewide nonprofit and nonpartisan online news organization, in 2008. His vision of a nonprofit model for news and his extraordinary fundraising ability revolutionized the U.S. local media landscape.
As Senior Fellow, Thornton will bring industry insights and expertise to support the school in its position as a leader in journalism education, at a time in which we are moving toward a tuition-free model. Thornton will also teach a master class focused on nonprofit journalism and the business of news and information.
“John Thorton is a visionary leader on the journalism stage, and our community will benefit enormously from his considerable experience and insight,” said Dean Graciela Mochkofsky. “Sharing his industry expertise with the school is an incredible gift to our students and faculty.”
Thornton has a rich background in venture capital and private equity, which he’s utilized to carve out financial opportunities for journalism. In 2018, he co-founded the American Journalism Project (AJP), the first-ever venture philanthropy firm focused on investing in local news. Under his leadership, AJP has successfully injected nearly $200 million into the nonprofit local news industry. The project’s grantees include Grist, a national environmental outlet that is building a local news initiative; ICT, which focuses on Indigenous stories; and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit publication that investigates incarceration and prisons.
He was a seed investor and an inaugural board member for The City, the nonprofit news organization in New York, and The 19th News, a nonprofit digital publication dedicated to gender, politics, and policy. Thornton’s expertise and ventures have been featured in Vox, the New York Times, Poynter, and more.
Thornton received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his bachelor’s from Trinity University, where he graduated first in his class and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2015.