Internews

Internews Network,[2] now Internews, is an international non-profit organization.

Internews
Typesnonprofit organization 
Established1982  (38 years ago)
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°52′04″N 124°05′17″W[1]
Websitewww.internews.org/ 

Formed in 1982, Internews Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in California. It has worked in more than 70 countries and trained more than 80,000 people in media skills. It is a founding member of Internews International,[3] an umbrella organization, based in Paris, of 30 associated non-governmental media organizations. Internews was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault.

Internews Europe is an independent media development organization, based in London, UK, and relying mainly on European funding. Internews Europe is chaired by Mark Stephens (solicitor).

In early 2015, Internews Network and Internews Europe began to integrate more closely and operate cooperatively with independent boards of directors.[4]

History

Internews was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger in 1982, incorporated in 1986.[5] One of the organization's first projects was a series of Spacebridges that connected the U.S. and Soviet Union by satellite,[6] a program that culminated with a TV series named "Capital to Capital" that aired on ABC and won an Emmy Award in 1988.[7]

Activities

Internews Network is primarily supported by grants, with over 80 percent of their funding coming from the US government.[8] According to the Internews 2011 999 filing, 100% of their funding comes from public sources, making them completely dependent upon government funding, meaning that none of the private funding sources cited below any longer support Internews. Funders have included the AOL-Time Warner Foundation, the Beagle Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Gregory C. Carr Foundation, the Coxe-Otus Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the GE Foundation, the Government of the Netherlands, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Science Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the RealNetworks Foundation, Rockefeller Financial Services, the United Nations Development Programme, the US Agency for International Development, the US Department of State, the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation, and others.[9] The US Agency for International Development and the US Department of State provide the overwhelming (99.98%) of funding for Internews operations per Internews 2009 990 filings.[10]

Criminal investigations

In April 2007 Russian police raided the office of the Educated Media Foundation, a section of Internews which trains journalists and fosters an independent media, as part of an investigation into its president, Manana Aslamazyan, who was accused of bringing too much cash into Russia from a visit to France.[11] Russia's Constitutional Court ruled on May 26, 2008 that charges against Manana Aslamazyan were illegal. In line with the ruling, Russia’s Interior Ministry dropped the charges and a warrant for Aslamazyan’s arrest.[12]

Internews Pakistan

Internews is an international organization that operates in about 40 countries to promote open media worldwide.[13]

Internews Center for Innovation & Learning

Based in Washington, D.C. and operating globally, The Internews Center for Innovation & Learning experiments with, captures and shares innovative approaches to communication from around the world. The Center seeks to strike a balance between local expertise and global learning in order to develop a comprehensive approach to innovative information exchange. The success of Internews’ programs springs from the expertise of its local field teams and an innovation advisor in each region helps support local experimentation, research and learning. The Center has committed to capturing the technological discoveries of field offices to enrich the knowledge base of the international development community as a whole.[14]

Internews' current Media Map project is the research cornerstone of the Center. In partnership with the World Bank Institute and the Brookings Institution and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Media Map project analyzes and publishes data on the interrelations between information access and outcomes in democracy and governance, economic growth, poverty reduction, human rights, gender equality, and health. Building from this foundation, Internews will seek support for the Center from a variety of private sources, including the technology sector, academic and research institutions, foundations, and individuals, to make the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning a dynamic public-private partnership that leverages resources and expertise to benefit communities throughout the world.[15]

Leadership

The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault.[16] The Board of Directors includes senior leaders from media, business and government, such as Chris Boskin, Simone Otus Coxe, founder David Hoffman, Lorne Craner, Anja Manuel, and Cristiana Falcone Sorrell.[17] National Security Advisor Susan Rice served on Internews' Board before rejoining the U.S. government.[18]

References
  1. GRID Release 2017-05-22, 22 May 2017, doi:10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.5032286, Wikidata Q30141628
  2. http://www.internews.org Internews Network web site
  3. http://internews.tv Internews International web site
  4. "About Us | Internews". www.internews.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  5. "The Long, Strange Trip of David Hoffman". Johns Hopkins Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  6. "Americans and Russians 'dance to each other's music' via satellite". Christian Science Monitor. 1984-12-17. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  7. "FDL Book Salon Welcomes David M. Hoffman, Citizens Rising: Independent Journalism and the Spread of Democracy". Shadowproof. 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  8. Keiger, Dale (June 2005). "The Long, Strange Trip of David Hoffman". Johns Hopkins Magazine. 57 (3). Retrieved 2012-01-25. He believes that media need to be independent of government control. Yet 80 percent of his organization's money comes from the U.S. government.
  9. "Current Donors". internews.org. Archived from the original on 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  10. "Internews Form 990 (2009)" (PDF). Foundation Center. p. 9. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  11. "Police 'close' Russia foundation". BBC. April 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  12. "Russia scraps arrest warrant for media campaigner". Reuters. May 28, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  13. Internews Pakistan Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
  14. http://internews.org/global-issues/center-innovation-and-learning Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine "The Internews Center for Innovation and Learning", Internews Website
  15. http://internews.org/our-stories/program-news/internews-launches-center-innovation-research-learning%5B%5D, "Internews Launches the Center for Innovation & Learning", Internews Website
  16. Slavin, Peter (September 2013). "Alumni Profile: Jeanne Bourgault". www.washington.edu. Columns the University of Washington Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  17. "Internews Officers and Directors". Retrieved Sep 16, 2014.
  18. "Obama Names Former Internews Board Member Susan Rice to be National Security Advisor". Retrieved September 16, 2014.
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