ATLANTA (Feb. 23, 2016)—The Georgia First Amendment Foundation (GFAF) has announced up to $30,000 in grants over three years from global cable news network CNN to support the foundation’s open government mission.
“We are thrilled to receive this level of support from one of the most recognizable media organizations in the world. CNN’s commitment underscores the importance of government transparency for journalists and citizens. It is also a vote of confidence in GFAF’s ongoing plan to transition to a member-based organization,” said GFAF Board President Shawn McIntosh.
CNN’s initial grant of $10,000 will support the foundation this year as it restructures and recruits members. The network also pledged $5,000 for 2017 and another $5,000 for 2018 to ensure GFAF’s important work continues. Finally, CNN pledged to award challenge grants during both of those years, matching new member contributions up to $5,000 per year. (CNN’s maximum contribution will be $10,000 each year.)
“CNN believes in the mission of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. Open and transparent government is essential not only to media organizations like ours, but also to every citizen of Georgia and beyond,” said Richard T. Griffiths, CNN vice president and senior editorial director and a member of GFAF’s board of directors.
With these contributions, CNN becomes a Gold Member of GFAF, which gives employees of the Atlanta-based network access to GFAF training and events. In addition, CNN will be the lead sponsor of the annual Georgia Bar Media & Judiciary Conference for 2016, 2017 and 2018.
About CNN
CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable TV news organization in the United States. Internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 300 million households abroad; and CNN Digital is a top network for online news, mobile news and social media. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.
About GFAF
Since 1994, the nonprofit Georgia First Amendment Foundation has been the only organization in the state fully dedicated to government transparency, working at the Capitol and in communities statewide to promote public access to government records, meetings and proceedings. The foundation has trained thousands of journalists, government employees and citizens on Georgia’s Sunshine Laws. GFAF’s guides to public records and meetings are the only resources of their kind in Georgia. Go to gfaf.org to learn more.
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