Media Alliance

What Media Alliance does

Media Alliance is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit media resource and advocacy organization founded in 1976 by Bay Area media workers seeking deeper connections between professional media and social justice movements. Operating for 49+ years, it is described as one of the oldest media change organizations in the United States. The organization's service portfolio addresses media accountability, digital rights, surveillance reform, and capacity building across four core offerings: JobFile (a weekly media job listing service currently on hiatus due to subscription funding issues); Press Service (distribution of press releases to approximately 800 Northern California journalists at $150 per release or $275 for write-and-distribute, with discounted three-release packages); Communication Skills for Social Justice Workshops (covering grant writing, spokesperson training, editorial writing, guerrilla publicity, with customized sessions for groups of five or more); and a Fiscal Sponsorship Program extending 501(c)(3) status to more than 45 aligned nonprofit and media projects including Indybay, Mutiny Radio, OpenArchive, the Aaron Swartz Day Police Surveillance Project, and the Safe AI Forever Institute. Supporting products include Quickie Activism Websites (rapid-deploy campaign sites within 72 hours), a Freelancer Database, and historical publication archives of MediaFile and Propaganda Review.

The business model combines annual membership dues ($35 Low-Income, $60 Standard, $100 Supporting; sliding-scale Non-Profit Group Memberships from $100 to $250 based on organizational budget), pay-as-you-go press services, workshop fees, fiscal sponsorship administrative fees, and institutional grants from approximately 40 funders including the San Francisco Foundation, Tides Foundation, California Arts Council, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Warnock Foundation. Recurring giving is enabled through a Monthly Sustainers Circle at $5 or $10 per month, with additional contribution channels via MightyCause, Stock Donator, and DAF Direct. The organization operates from a single headquarters at 2830 20th Street, Suite 208, San Francisco, California.

Media Alliance's advocacy operation distinguishes it from comparable capacity-building nonprofits. The organization, led by Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg, anchors the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition with EFF, Greenlining Institute, TURN, Color of Change, MediaJustice, and Oakland Tenants Union, and has secured intervenor status in federal appellate proceedings defending FCC digital discrimination rules (8th Circuit, 2024) and net neutrality rules (Sixth Circuit, 2025). It co-operates the Facebook Users Union / FUU People Power with Global Exchange and participates in the National Campaign to End Shotspotter. Marketing and distribution run through the media-alliance.org website (WordPress-based, no proprietary technology stack disclosed), category pages for Internet Freedom, Surveillance, Accountability and Representation, Media Ownership, and Media Workers, an email newsletter and action alert system, and a multi-platform social presence spanning Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Blue Sky, TikTok, Twitter/X, Spoutible, and Threads. Geographic scope is regional, focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with no global footprint claimed.

Name

Media Alliance

Legal name

Media Alliance

Website

https://media-alliance.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Media Alliance is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1976 providing media justice advocacy, fiscal sponsorship to 45+ projects, press release distribution to 800 Northern California journalists, workshops, and JobFile listings for media workers, nonprofits, and social justice activists in the Bay Area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit media advocacy services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Relations & Press Office Services (MPAAADAI), Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

Keywords

• Media advocacy
• Press freedom
• Digital rights
• Communications training
• Fiscal sponsorship

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues and Donations: The organization is funded largely by membership fees and donations from individuals and institutional funders. Membership tiers include Low-Income ($35), Standard ($60), Supporting ($100), and sliding-scale Non-Profit Group Memberships ($100-$250 based on annual budget). Tax-deductible contributions can be made via MightyCause platform, and gifts of stock can be donated via Stock Donator.
2. Press Release Services: Media Alliance offers press release distribution services: distribution-only at $150 per release, write-and-distribute at $275 per release, and discounted series packages of three releases. The service distributes press releases to approximately 800 Northern California journalists.
3. Fiscal Sponsorship: Media Alliance offers fiscal sponsorship to new not-for-profit organizations and temporary media projects that align with its mission, extending its 501c3 charitable umbrella to spare projects the burden of securing immediate nonprofit status and providing eligibility for charitable donations and institutional support.
4. Workshop and Class Fees: The organization offers Communication Skills for Social Justice Workshops with working professional instructors and affordable fees. Customized workshops are available for groups of five or more. Member discounts are provided for workshops, classes, conferences, and events. Fiscal sponsorship program projects also receive preferential access to training and capacity-building services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Media Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media resource and advocacy center that operates a Fiscal Sponsorship program for emerging media and social-justice projects, delivers media-skills training and customized communications workshops, distributes paid press releases to Northern California journalists, runs a regional media-jobs listing service, and convenes coalitions for press freedom, internet choice, and surveillance reform. The organization is funded primarily through tiered annual memberships, individual donations, and institutional grants, and operates community-led advocacy campaigns including the Facebook Users Union and the National Campaign to End Shotspotter.

Product overview

Media Alliance offers an integrated suite of advocacy and media services focused on media accountability, digital rights, and communication rights for social justice. The portfolio includes the Jobfile (media jobs listing), Press Service (press release distribution to 800 journalists), Communication Skills for Social Justice Workshops, Fiscal Sponsorship Program (extending 501(c)(3) status to 40+ projects), Quickie Activism Websites (rapid campaign site creation), and the Facebook Users Union campaign. Supporting offerings include a Freelancer Database, MediaFile Archives, and Propaganda Review Archives. The organization advocates for internet freedom, net neutrality, digital equity, media ownership diversity, consumer privacy, and surveillance reform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Facebook Users Union: A project of Media Alliance focused on holding Facebook/Meta accountable for content moderation, privacy practices, and impacts on democracy and civil rights.
• JobFile

Products and services

• Jobfile Weekly email-delivered listing of 25-50 full-time, part-time, temporary, freelance jobs and internships across print, film, broadcast, video, graphic design, photography, advertising, communications, and community organizing in Northern California. The service also includes a self-register Freelancer Database of media professionals available for hire. Currently on hiatus due to subscription funding issues. Free to job seekers; no charge to list a job.
• Press Service Community-based press release distribution service reaching approximately 800 Northern California journalists, with two paid offerings: Distribution-Only at $150 per release (polished or unpolished press release) and Write-and-Distribute at $275 per release (Media Alliance crafts the release, including news hook and quote, and distributes). Discounted series packages of three releases are also offered (good for two years). Priced per release or as a discounted series package for groups seeking press coverage and journalist outreach.
• Communication Skills for Social Justice Workshops Workshops for nonprofit staffers, activists, and media workers covering grant writing, proofreading, copyediting, spokesperson training, opinion and editorial writing, and guerrilla publicity. Delivered with working professional instructors at affordable fees, available as open enrollment or customized sessions for groups of five or more. Member discounts provided to Low-Income, Standard, Supporting, and Non-Profit Group members.
• Fiscal Sponsorship Program Extends Media Alliance's 501(c)(3) charitable umbrella to new nonprofit organizations and temporary media projects that align with the organization's mission, providing eligibility for charitable donations and institutional support without requiring projects to secure their own nonprofit status. Requires completion of a remote orientation session prior to application. Currently sponsors 45+ projects spanning podcasts (Acorrection Podcast, Out In The Bay), community radio stations (Mutiny Radio, Alameda Community Radio), advocacy initiatives (Aaron Swartz Day Police Surveillance Project, Climate Money Watchdog, Closing The Gap Campaign), documentaries (bluegreen film, The Book of Vaughn), and independent media centers (Indybay, Bay Area Action History Project).
• Quickie Activism Websites Hyper-speed activism website generation service that produces fully functional campaign websites within 72 hours. Includes sign-up forms, petitions, targeted action alerts, SSL certificates, an event calendar, and social media tie-ins for up to 8 pages. Designed for activists, campaigns, and advocacy sprints needing immediate digital infrastructure without extended development timelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Press release distribution to 800 Northern California journalists per release
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacebook Users Union / FUU People Power is a joint project of Media Alliance and Global Exchange. The campaign organizes social media users to hold Facebook/Meta accountable for hate, disinformation, and harm to communities. The project has coordinated protests at Netroots Nation, launched the #FireZuck campaign, organized the Facebook Logout event, and conducted Instagram Live series on reclaiming the platform.
• Oakland Internet Choice CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia Alliance serves as anchor organization for the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition, which includes Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), Color of Change, MediaJustice, Oakland Tenants Union, and alternative ISPs MonkeyBrains, Sonic, Paxio, and People's Open Internet. The coalition successfully advocated for Oakland's Communications Service Provider Choice Ordinance passed unanimously in October 2021.
• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia Alliance partnered with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (with legal representation) to obtain intervenor status in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to protect the FCC's digital discrimination rules. The coalition filed petitions and briefs defending the rules that define discriminatory provision of digital services as practices resulting in disparities regardless of intent.
• Aaron Swartz Day Police Surveillance ProjectminorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. The project focuses on police surveillance issues.
• Indybay – The Bay Area Independent Media CenterminorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. Indybay is the Bay Area Independent Media Center.
• Mutiny RadiominorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. Mutiny Radio is a community radio station.
• OpenArchiveminorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. OpenArchive focuses on mobile preservation for media.
• Safe AI Forever InstituteminorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. Safe AI Forever Institute focuses on AI safety.
• Out In The BayminorOthersOne of over 45 fiscally sponsored projects under Media Alliance's 501c3 charitable umbrella. Out In The Bay is an LGBTQ+ podcast.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Color of Change: Online racial justice organization running media accountability and platform reform campaigns (including Facebook/Meta accountability). Direct coalition partner of Media Alliance through the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition and Facebook Users Union initiatives.
• Benton Institute for Broadband & Society: Nonprofit think tank dedicated to ensuring open, affordable, high-capacity broadband. Co-intervenor with Media Alliance in federal net neutrality litigation, sharing identical policy advocacy methodology and similar target policy domains.
• Global Exchange: International human rights and social justice nonprofit; co-develops the Facebook Users Union with Media Alliance. Comparable in advocacy-driven membership model and Bay Area-based social justice organizing.
• Free Press: National nonprofit media reform and press freedom advocacy organization fighting for affordable communication, diverse media ownership, and public interest journalism. Directly comparable to Media Alliance in mission, coalition tactics, and policy focus on net neutrality and digital rights.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Leading civil liberties organization focused on digital rights, privacy, and free expression. Direct partner in the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition and operates in the same Bay Area/digital rights ecosystem as Media Alliance, with overlapping policy and advocacy methods.
• Public Knowledge: Washington, D.C.-based public interest advocacy group working on telecommunications, copyright, and internet policy. Comparable as a media/digital rights advocacy nonprofit operating through coalition and federal policy intervention, with similar intervention dossiers.
• MediaJustice: National racial justice, media justice, and intergenerational equity advocacy organization. Coalition partner of Media Alliance in the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition and comparable in mission around media access, representation, and digital equity.
• TURN (The Utility Reform Network): California-based consumer advocacy organization focused on utility and telecommunications services. Coalition partner of Media Alliance in the Oakland Internet Choice Coalition; comparable in advocacy for affordable broadband and consumer protection.

Emerging players

• Alliance for Community Media: National nonprofit supporting community media centers and PEG (public, educational, governmental) channels. Comparable in supporting local/community media infrastructure and capacity-building workshops for media workers.

Broad incumbents

• Report for America / Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: National press freedom and legal defense organizations serving journalists. Operates broadly in the press freedom space that Media Alliance addresses regionally, with similar mission around media access and accountability.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/twrling
• Facebookfacebook.com/mediaalliance.bayarea
• Instagraminstagram.com/media.alliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/media-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Media Alliance