The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, journalists and media executives for press freedom, is delighted to announce that Timothy Large has joined its senior management team as Director of Independent Media Programmes.
Large will be responsible for expanding IPI鈥檚 existing support to independent media as a means to build resilience in the face of press freedom restrictions and financial hardship, and ensure the viability of journalistic content that serves the public interest.
Providing support for independent media is a central pillar of IPI鈥檚 mission alongside its work defending press freedom and analysing and promoting best practices in media innovation.
As a network, IPI draws on the unique strength, commitment to journalistic integrity, and wealth of experience that exist among its members to share knowledge and create a united front in defence of core press freedom principles.
IPI鈥檚 efforts to galvanize direct support for independent journalism build on various successful initiatives to date and reflect the organization鈥檚 ongoing assessment of the needs of independent media operating in challenging environments.
IPI’s (IJ4EU) programme 鈥� which Large has successfully managed for the past two years 鈥� has channelled more than 鈧�2.5 million in public and philanthropic money into watchdog journalism in Europe while guaranteeing editorial independence. The programme also offers training, mentoring, legal help, and networking opportunities.
In addition, IPI has united minority- and majority-language media in Europe through , which offers grants and fellowships for collaborative reporting. IPI will shortly launch a new programme fostering media innovation in Europe.
Vienna-based IPI 鈥� the world鈥檚 oldest global press freedom organiszation 鈥� also runs other programmes offering direct support to independent journalism.
The goal now is to build on these successes and the lessons learned.
IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said: 鈥淚PI is fortunate to have Timothy Large lead its Independent Media Programme. Tim鈥檚 thorough understanding of the challenges that independent media face across the globe and his ability to develop strategies to provide substantial support without interfering in their editorial independence greatly contribute to ongoing global efforts for the viability of public interest journalism.鈥�
An award-winning journalist, editor, and media development specialist, Large has around 25 years of experience working in 鈥� and supporting 鈥� the news industry.
He was founding editor of , a cross-border investigative platform run by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), and editor of BIRN鈥檚 flagship .
Prior to that, he spent 17 years working for , first as a sub-editor and correspondent in Tokyo and then as deputy editor and editor of Reuters AlertNet, a global humanitarian news service.
He went on to become editor-in-chief of the , where he built and managed a global team of around 30 Reuters journalists covering under-reported topics ranging from modern slavery to the human impacts of climate change.
He set up a Creole-language emergency news service in Port-au-Prince right after the Haiti earthquake and negotiated and led the first trip by a major news agency into North Korea for exclusive reportage on famine.
Large later became Thomson Reuters Foundation鈥檚 Director of Journalism and Media Programmes, managing Reuters media development projects aimed at fostering the highest standards of journalism worldwide and supporting independent media.
These included the establishment of independent news services in countries in transition 鈥� Aswat Masriya in Egypt, The Source in Zimbabwe, and Myanmar Now in Myanmar. He launched Wealth of Nations, a pan-African programme to help journalists investigate illicit financial flows, and Perspektivy, a cross-border programme for Russian-language media.
Large was a founding member of the , launched in partnership with 10 major media foundations.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to take up the challenge of expanding IPI鈥檚 work in supporting independent media鈥�, Large said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen from programmes like IJ4EU and NewsSpectrum is that the demand for assistance far outweighs supply.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not only about providing money 鈥� important though that is. I鈥檓 bowled over by the resilience and ingenuity of so many independent media outlets in the face of overwhelming pressure. In addition to funding, what they need is practical assistance and a path to sustainability. I believe IPI is perfectly positioned to work with partners all over the world to help make that happen.鈥�