The Omidyar Network awarded four grants to media organizations Tuesday in recognition of the role an independent and impartial media plays in promoting government transparency.
Investment partner Stephen King announced the grants at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., during a plenary session at the World Press Freedom Day conference.
The following organizations will receive grants:
- African Media Initiative, which seeks to strengthen African press institutions, will receive, with other donors, $1.7 million over two years.
- Sahara Reporters, a website focusing on Nigerian politics and society will receive up to $450,000 over three years.
- Media Development Loan Fund, which offers low-cost loans to media organizations in repressive countries, will receive $2 million over two years.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists will receive $800,000 this year.
The Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm founded in 2004.
-You can read more of IJNet's ongoing coverage of World Press Freedom Day here.
The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organizes World Press Freedom Day commemorations to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom; to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. For complete information on the 2011 World Press Freedom Day global conference in Washington DC, see www.wpfd2011.org (in English)