Global Press Institute is a Washington DC–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that publishes news from some of the world's least-covered places, by local women journalists as opposed to 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 products and services to media, education, and corporate syndication partners.

History

The organization known today as Global Press Institute was founded in 2006 by Cristi Hegranes, an American who had traveled to Nepal as a journalism student and concluded that a local woman was better equipped to report on a community's story due to her cultural and historical context and access to reliable sources.

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. As of 2022, the organization claimed to have trained and employed 250 women journalists in 40 locations, including communities in Argentina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Training

GPI implements a training-to-employment mode, in which English proficiency and secondary school completion is not a requirement. Upon completion of the training, graduates may be offered paid employment with Global Press Journal.

Funding and Support

GPI 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 Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and The Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation.

Controversy

In 2023, Semafor reported that Global Press had exponentially inflated its audience numbers to funders and raised questions about the role of editors in writing GPJ stories and whether the organization's journalism training program had equipped local women reporters for employment at any other media organization. In 2024, a Columbia Journalism Review investigation reported that Global Press was laying off journalists and recalibrating its operations amid financial difficulties, and raised questions about workplace conditions and whether GPJ reporters had been adequately trained for employment elsewhere.

Global Press Journal

Global Press Journal is a multilingual news publication featuring stories reported by women based in developing countries, covering a range of topics including arts and culture, business, climate, community, economic justice, education, environment, gender justice, health, human rights, migration, and politics. The stories are published in English and their local language, and all of them adhere to the Global Press Style Guide, a living document that establishes rules for referring to people and places in Global Press' coverage communities and promotes dignity and precision in international journalism.

Awards

Global Press and its reporters have received international awards and accolades including: