What Shorenstein Center does

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a private academic research center operated under Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Center is dedicated to examining how media is created, distributed, and consumed, and its impact on society, organized around four research focus areas: Media Creation, Information Distribution, News Consumption & Engagement, and Policy & Impact. It operates an extensive portfolio of specialized research initiatives and labs, including the Information Disorder Lab, Civic Health & Institutions Project (CHIP50), Computational Policy Lab, Public Interest Tech Lab, Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative, and the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative, and produces publications, discussion papers, and resources (including the 'Unlocked' publication) deposited in the Harvard DASH open-access repository under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. The Center also administers the prestigious Goldsmith Awards program (founded 1991), comprising prizes for Investigative Reporting, Explanatory Reporting, Book Prize, Career Award, and Documentary Special Citation, plus the inaugural Henry Awards for Public Interest Documentary, and runs fellowship programs for scholars, journalists, and practitioners.

The Center serves a horizontal audience of academic researchers, working journalists and editors, documentary filmmakers, policymakers and government officials, graduate and undergraduate students, and the general public interested in media, politics, and democratic processes. It distributes its work through its website, email newsletter, Substack, YouTube, and active social media presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and Threads, and convenes public events at Harvard Kennedy School that are livestreamed globally. The Center does not develop proprietary technology products; instead it conducts empirical and applied research, frequently in collaboration with major media organizations (e.g., The New York Times, The Washington Post, Upworthy, Oregon Public Broadcasting, ProPublica) that supply proprietary datasets.

The Center's business model is non-commercial: it is entirely funded by donations and grants, with no product pricing or direct revenue from end-users. Major funding sources include the Greenfield Foundation (which funds the Goldsmith Awards), Craig Newmark Philanthropies (supporting disinformation and public interest internet research), and FOX Sports (funding the three-year Fandom and Social Connection Initiative). Outputs are offered free of charge under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license for private use and public educational purposes. The Center operates within the Harvard University governance structure and has no independent ownership, public listing, or subsidiaries.

Name

Shorenstein Center

Legal name

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

Website

https://shorensteincenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Shorenstein Center is a Harvard Kennedy School research center that studies how media is created, distributed, and consumed, serving academic researchers, journalists, policymakers, students, and the public. It produces open-access research, runs fellowship and Goldsmith Awards programs, and is funded entirely by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media and Public Policy Research

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Media policy research
• Journalism awards program
• Public policy research
• Academic fellowships
• Misinformation research

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Shorenstein Center's work is entirely funded by generous donations and grants. Content is offered free for private use and public educational purposes under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School that conducts research on how media is created, distributed, and consumed and the resulting impacts on society. It administers journalism awards (the Goldsmith Prizes), hosts fellowship programs for scholars and journalists, publishes research and commentary, and offers educational products such as the First Draft misinformation verification course.

Product overview

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School dedicated to examining how media is created, distributed, and consumed and its impacts on society. The Center operates through four primary research focus areas: Media Creation, Information Distribution, News Consumption & Engagement, and Policy & Impact. It houses numerous specialized research initiatives and labs, produces publications and resources (including the Unlocked publication), offers fellowship programs, and administers the prestigious Goldsmith Awards program comprising the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting ($10,000), Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting ($15,000), Goldsmith Book Prize (Trade and Academic categories), and Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism. The Center also offers educational products including the First Draft free online misinformation identification course.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting Annual journalism award recognizing investigative reporting that has impact on public policy and government functioning, with a cash prize. Open to journalists and media organizations.
• Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting Annual prize honoring reporting that illuminates how governance works in the United States, with a $15,000 cash prize. Open to journalists and media organizations.
• Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism Annual award recognizing outstanding individual contributions to journalism and work that enriches political discourse and society.
• Goldsmith Book Prize Two annual prizes (Trade Book Prize and Academic Book Prize) for books published on topics at the intersection of media, politics, and public policy.
• Special Citation for Documentary Film Award recognizing documentary feature films that deepen public understanding of critical issues, including a $10,000 cash prize.
• Henry Awards for Public Interest Documentary Awards recognizing excellence in public interest documentary filmmaking, with a focus on freedom of expression. Inaugurated in 2025.
• First Draft Misinformation Training Course Free one-hour online course teaching journalists, students, and the general public basic tools to verify the authenticity of content found online, covering information literacy skills with case studies and video content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Directly influenced passage of bipartisan law providing $450,000 to wildland firefighters with smoke-related cancers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ProPublica's Local Reporting NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Goldsmith Prize-winning 'Power Struggle' series was produced in partnership with ProPublica's Local Reporting Network. This collaboration enabled investigative reporting on green energy challenges in the Pacific Northwest.
• First DraftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Draft is a project run by Shorenstein Center Fellow Claire Wardle. It uses research-based methods to fight mis- and disinformation through courses, resources, trainings, and journalistic fieldwork.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCfHELo8vTDfQMG8zDEMaUHg
• Facebookfacebook.com/shorensteincenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shorenstein-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/shorensteinctr/?hl=en
• Xx.com/ShorensteinCtr

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 Shorenstein Center