The Global Press Institute is a Washington DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds and maintains news bureaus in some of the world's least-covered places, staffed by local women journalists whose social, historical and political context distinguishes them from foreign correspondents.
The organization consists of three divisions: Global Press Institute, which focuses on training local women to become journalists in developing media markets; Global Press Journal, the organization's award-winning multilingual news publication; and Global Press News Services, which sells a customized Duty of Care program, a Style Guide workshop, access to a photo archive, and other products and services to media, education, and corporate syndication partners.
History
GPI was founded in 2006 by Cristi Hegranes, a young American journalist. A year earlier, Hegranes had been working as a foreign correspondent in Nepal when she realized that a local woman was better equipped to report on a community's story because she had more cultural and historical context and had access to reliable sources. She returned to the United States, quit her job, and asked everyone she knew for $40. With the $10,000 she raised, she founded Global Press Institute.
In 2006, Hegranes performed the first GPI training in Chiapas, Mexico, where five women were trained in the principles and practice of traditional investigative journalism. The stories, which covered topics such as AIDS, poverty, clandestine abortion and community development, were the first that were published by the Global Press Journal. Hegranes established a second news bureau in Nepal. As of 2022, the organization has trained and employed 250 journalists in 40 bureaus. In addition to print journalism, GPI training includes photo and video journalism.
Mission and Impact
Global Press creates a more informed and inclusive world by training and employing local women journalists to report news in their own communities, some of the world's least-covered places.
GPI reporters have covered a range of issues such as caste discrimination and political rape. Founder Hegranes has said more than 25 percent of GPI's reporting has created social change in the form of protests, attracting media attention, and helping to change laws in Nepal and Rwanda and some community policies in Zambia.
Locations
In 2022, GPJ employed journalists in Argentina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, India, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Training
Training is provided in the prospective journalist's local language; English proficiency is not a requirement. Some GPI journalists have only a fourth-grade literacy level. GPI currently provides training in six languages.
GPI implements a training-to-employment mode. Trainees enroll in a 16-week program, during which they learn the principles and practice of investigative journalism through classroom-style training and direct content-production. Upon completion of the training, graduates are offered full-time, paid employment with Global Press Journal. The journalists are offered professional development opportunities and refresher courses throughout their employment at Global Press Journal.
Funding and Support
GPI does not accept government funding or anonymous support. It currently relies on individual and institutional donors, with plans to move towards sustainability through syndication revenue generated from Global Press News Services. Its donors include the MacArthur Foundation, Emerson Collective, Luminate, Fondation CHANEL, and The Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation.
Global Press Journal
Global Press Journal is a multilingual news publication featuring stories from Global Press reporters across its news bureaus. Each employee earns a living wage as well as access to continuing education.
Global Press offers ongoing training to its reporters, including on topics such as climate change and other issues, as well as professional development and technical skills. The reporters cover a range of topics including arts and culture, business, climate, community, economic justice, education, environment, gender justice, health, human rights, migration, and politics.