FEBRUARY 3, 2021
Under the coalescing crises of public health and systemic racism, more readers began to question systems of power, including those that have long relegated diverse voices in journalism. With new awareness of who is telling the world’s stories, readers flocked to Global Press Journal. We saw record readership across 191 countries in 2020.
For the last 15 years, Global Press has demonstrated that people everywhere are better informed when local journalists with context and access tell accurate, nuanced stories. 2020 emphasized the necessity of our mission: to train and employ professional female journalists in the world’s least-covered places.
Few things were left unchanged by the turbulent 12 months of 2020. So, our annual report looks different this year too. As you scroll through, you’ll learn how our award-winning Duty of Care program kept our journalists safe and healthy. You’ll see how our style guide, which is rooted in the principles of dignity and precision, influenced hundreds of American journalists during a summer of racial justice protests.
And we’ll look ahead, to share bold plans for our work in a changed world.
Cristi Hegranes
CEO, Global Press
Publisher, Global Press Journal
Our largest audiences are in the United States and Global Press Journal bureau locations.
Duty of Care is our holistic safety and security program, designed to serve our unique network of female journalists who live in the communities they cover.
For these journalists, extraction is never an option. Local journalists require a robust and inclusive security methodology that prioritizes the interconnectedness of physical, emotional, digital and legal security. At Global Press, the safety of our reporters is central to our work.
experienced
lockdown
had freedom of movement restricted, despite being labeled essential workers
had freedom of movement restricted because reporters were not labeled essential workers
experienced lack of transportation (closed roads, public transportation shut down)
suspected exposure to COVID-19 while reporting, later tested negative
were exposed
to other contagious diseases
were harassed
while reporting
were injured
while reporting
tested positive
for COVID-19
Global Press Journal reporters experienced stress and anxiety as isolation took its toll.
Throughout the year, we invested in the Global Press Wellness Network, an international team of mental health practitioners who serve our reporters with unlimited sessions, on demand.
of Global Press Journal reporters say they plan to use the Wellness Network in 2021, compared to 45% in 2019.
Global Press was awarded the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award from American Psychiatric Association in recognition of our Duty of Care program and its “extraordinary efforts to prioritize the mental health of journalists around the world.”
With reporters on lockdown, our global team of illustrators brought Global Press Journal stories to life. (Illustration by Zoe van Dijk for Global Press Journal)
Global Press Institute, the training division of Global Press, implemented a training in lockdown program, offering our reporters around the world the opportunity for intermediate and advanced professional development while mandated to stay at home.
Reporters and members of the Global Press Accuracy Network in various virtual trainings.
Training highlights included master classes in fact checking and photojournalism and a newly created workshop on reporting climate vulnerabilities, designed in partnership with The Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Amrita Jaisi, Global Press Institute Nepal Trainee, February 2020
As the pandemic erupted, a new class of trainees in Nepal was just halfway through our 16-week training program, The Principles & The Practice. The Nepal launch and all future bureau expansions remain on hold.
From Haiti to Uganda, the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis ignited new conversations about racial justice and colonial histories.
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Woodly Caymitte works on a sculpture of George Floyd in Carrefour Feuilles, Haiti. (Marie Michelle Felicien, Global Press Journal Haiti)
The Global Press Style Guide establishes rules for referring to the people and places where our reporters work. Each entry is intentionally crafted to promote dignity and precision in international journalism.
From the Global Press Style Guide
race
Rule: Use precise references to a source’s ancestry when relevant to a story’s news value.
Do not conflate race with skin color or nationality. Instead, allow sources to self-identify. Capitalize skin color according to source preference. For general references to groups of people do not default to capitalization, use standard grammar rules for nouns and adjectives
Rationale: Precise references to diverse source identities promote reader clarity and source dignity
Read more entries
Journalists turned to the Global Press Style Guide as they reached for words to describe racial justice protests.
In collaboration with The Poynter Institute, one of the world’s premier journalism institutions, Global Press hosted a webinar for more than 1,000 journalists and editors on the topic of writing about race with dignity and precision.
Since the webinar, dozens of newsrooms have adopted use of the Global Press Style Guide.
Our reporters covered the global implications of the racial justice movement in the United States.
Senior Reporter Nakisanze Segawa wrote about Ugandans who, galvanized by George Floyd's murder, sought to rename public spaces that honor the country's colonial rulers. There is a growing push to rename these public spaces to honor accomplished Ugandans.
More coverage about countries reckoning with their colonial pasts:
Before colonialist Cecil John Rhodes died, he asked to be buried in Zimbabwe’s sacred Matobo Hills. Local people are renewing the debate over whether the polarizing politician deserves to stay.
Uganda’s rural schools are turning away from English-only instruction as mother-tongue language learning grows in popularity. But the practice faces bigger hurdles in urban classrooms.
Global Press hires female reporters from diverse backgrounds to ensure access to diverse sources, nuanced story angles and meaningful context. This contributes to a comprehensive narrative of places often minimized to rote stereotypes of war, poverty, disaster and disease.
* Represents Global Press team members in 2020, according to a self-reported diversity survey.
Mainstream coverage of COVID-19 lacked gender diversity. Our reporting of the pandemic showcased our commitment to diversity.
Female sources
Female experts
Local experts
Global Press Journal reporters prioritize local experts who have proximity to issues and offer accurate local context.
Jeremiah Gwate washes his hands at the gate to his homestead in Gungwe, Zimbabwe. (Fortune Moyo, Global Press Journal Zimbabwe)
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Tania Hernández wears a mask she bought at the “Vive Latino” music festival in March in Mexico City. (Mar García, Global Press Journal Mexico)
Too often, global news is only reported from major metropolitan areas. Global Press has established independent news bureaus across four continents, offering comprehensive coverage from more than 40 cities, towns and rural areas.
Number of bureaus by area population
Global Press, like many organizations, struggled in the spring and summer as markets crashed and donor priorities shifted. In May, we revised our annual budget goal from $4 million to $3 million.
But throughout the year, donors and partners recognized the powerful reporting and unique impact Global Press was having in a difficult collective moment. We ended 2020 just shy of our original goal.
$250,000 and above
Emerson Collective
Fondacion CHANEL
Hewlett Foundation
Luminate
MacArthur Foundation
Open Square Foundation
Yellow Chair Foundation
$100,000 - $249,999
Anne and Greg Avis
Emily Kaiser and Gene Bulmash
Humanity United
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
$50,000 - $99,000
Channel Foundation
U.S. Charitable Gift Trust
$5,000 - $49,000
Auriga Foundation
BOMA
Cloud Mountain Foundation
Dan and Gail Austin
First Dollar Foundation
George Kaiser Family Foundation
Michelle Swenson and Stan Drobac
Mize Family Foundation
Seattle Foundation
Simone Otus Coxe
Stewart R. Mott Foundation
Taube Family Philanthropies
Tecovas Foundation
This year, Global Press celebrates its 15th anniversary.
This milestone is particularly meaningful as our commitment to dignity, diversity, transparency and excellence resonates with a growing audience.
Since 2006:
Here’s how we’ll continue our bold mission in a changed world:
Photo by Dolgormaa Sandagdorj, Global Press Journal Mongolia
Global Press Institute has conducted in-person training around the world since 2006. We’re working to virtualize our award-winning Duty of Care and other training programs to ensure our reporters have access to powerful learning opportunities when we can’t be together in person.
Photo by Françoise Mbuyi Mutombo, Global Press Journal DRC
Our reporters and a bigger-than-ever team of expert editors will bring you even more stories in 2021. Don’t miss the all-new Global Press Journal, whose homepage features new cross-border curations of resonant topics like climate, civil unrest and health care innovation.
Photo by Ena Aguilar Peláez, Global Press Journal Mexico
Global Press News Services now offers all-new products and services. From Duty of Care consultations to customized style guide scans and workshops, we’re bringing the best of Global Press to other organizations around the world.
global press news services
Photo by Myagmarsuren Battur, Global Press Journal Mongolia
From building Global Press Journal sites in French and Spanish to growing our syndication network, we’ll serve even more readers in 2021. And we’ll study them too. We’ll dig into audience research to study trust and biases toward news produced by women of color.
global press journalThank you for making Global Press Journal a staple part of your news diet in 2020. Thank you for valuing diversity in journalism and understanding the pivotal role local reporters play in helping us understand the world – and our place in it.
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