The International Journalist's Network reports:

Organizations outside the United States spent an estimated US$1 billion annually on developing independent media around the world, according to a new report.

Media researchers at the University of Georgia in the United States prepared the report for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The report identified 70 organizations in 25 countries that support independent news media. Regionally, the report found that countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa receive the most aid.

Eric Newton, Knight’s director of Journalism Initiatives, said the spending should be higher. Compared to the money that governments spend on arms, the amount spent on media development is tiny, he said.

A previous report for Knight analyzed U.S.-based support for independent media worldwide. That report found that American organizations had spent about US$600 million over a 10-year period.

What strings are attached to this funding? How does it influence a free press?

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