World fund established to save independent journalism

With the onslaught of digital advertising and government suppression, journalists around the world are face daunting challenges to keep their news rooms humming while reporting the truth. Last week, the joint recipients of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Mruatov of Russia joined with Mark Thompson, former New York Times CEO, to form the International Fund of Public Interest Media. The goal is to provide close to one billion dollars to support journalism. (Politico, December 15, 2021, by Ryan Heath)

Leaders at the summit for democracy stressed the importance of a free press in sustaining democracy. “They’re quite right:” write Ressa and Thompson. “Without access to trustworthy independent news, populations are left in the dark, governments grow corrupt and democratic institutions soon become a sham. But it will take more than speeches — or indeed Nobel Prizes — to save independent journalism. It will take a plan and a new more equal partnership between practitioners and their supporters in the prosperous North. It will take a renewed sense of mission. It will also take hard cash,” The New York Times, December 10, 2021.

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