21 Dec 2021 Year in Review
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been one year since the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act was signed into law following its unanimous passage through both houses of Congress. It authorized our Foundation to establish a national memorial honoring reporters, editors, photojournalists, and broadcasters who have lost their lives reporting the news. Since then, with support from our Board, early funders, and many others, we have made good progress towards bringing this Memorial to life.
We wanted to provide a quick overview of what has been accomplished this year and outline our priorities for the coming year.
In 2021, we kicked off the Foundation’s capital campaign with two significant grants to support the establishment of the Memorial from our partners at the Annenberg Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Together, they are giving $6 million in grants to support the early stages of our work. The Annenberg Foundation’s contribution included a commitment to match up to $2.6 million from other donors.
We established and grew our Board of Advisors to include exceptional leaders across journalism and staunch advocates for a free press. Our Board provided insight and shared our mission with new audiences. A full list of our Board can be found here.
Our team has also made great strides this year in securing a location for the Memorial. We worked with AECOM on a site survey and toured the top sites with our advisor, the award winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger.
On October 5, 2021, the Foundation presented our site selection study to the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (NCMAC). To demonstrate the value and significance of this Memorial, we provided NCMAC with essays authored by Clarence Page, Amanda Bennett, Rick Hutzell, Tom Rosenstiel and Michael Beschloss, among others. We invite you to read their powerful messages on our website here. We are grateful for their contributions and rely on their words for inspiration as we embark on our next phase.
The Commission unanimously agreed with the Foundation’s recommendation to locate the Memorial in Area I, the area nearest the National Mall. Receiving the Commission’s support is a significant step towards obtaining final Congressional approval to build in Area I.
As we prepare to enter 2022, the creation of the Memorial will continue to require a dedicated community of supporters passionate about freedom of the press and memorializing journalists who have sacrificed their lives in service to democracy.
To learn more or if you are interested in supporting the Foundation, check out fallenjournalists.org or a contribution can be made online here.
Thank you for your interest and Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
David Dreier
Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, Founder and Chairman
Barbara Cochran
Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, President