State Department and Meridian International Center Launch Global Business of Media Initiative

The Department of State's Bureau of Global Public Affairs established a public-private partnership with Meridian International Center to strengthen global media business models in the most vulnerable international media markets. The Global Business of Media partnership will channel resources into exchange and training programs for high-potential media professionals, equipping them with the necessary tools and networks to bolster journalism's independence and integrity.

In a public announcement, Acting Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Kristin M. Kane and CEO of Meridian International Center Ambassador Stuart Holliday signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the partnership. Acting Assistant Secretary Kane provided remarks on how the partnership builds on more than 20 years of journalism and media exchange programs developed by the Department of State in partnership with Meridian.

The partnership, facilitated by The Department of State's Office of Global Partnerships, highlights how public and private sector actors can collaborate to pursue common goals, in this case, building capacity for the long-term sustainability of independent news outlets.

Meridian International Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit diplomacy center dedicated to advancing diplomacy and leadership to build a better shared future. Since its inception in 1960, Meridian's Center for Global Leadership has worked with journalists and media professionals to promote the protection of a free and fair press through reporting tours, media co-ops, training tours, and residencies for foreign journalists to the United States to engage with their peers and explore the U.S. media landscape.