PRI receives grant from Ford Foundation to increase understanding of how immigrants in America experience key social justice issues

MINNEAPOLIS, June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Public Radio International (PRI) has received a grant of $500,000 over two years from the Ford Foundation in support of Global Nation, a major content initiative designed to inform and engage the public on pressing social justice issues as experienced by foreign-born Americans and their children. PRI will work with ethnic media, local public radio stations, and independent producers across the country to identify the social justice stories affecting immigrant communities, and to give the voices of immigrants on these issues national prominence. PRI's The World®, the daily global news program co-produced by PRI, WGBH Radio, and the BBC World Service, will serve as the national broadcast platform for this coverage.

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Launched in 2012, Global Nation is designed to bring to light the compelling human stories behind the headlines through fact-based original journalism. Seed funding from the Rita Allen Foundation enabled PRI to launch the initiative.  The grant from the Ford Foundation will enable PRI to bring the initiative to scale and extend its reach and impact through two interconnected elements:

• enterprise reporting that reveals the facts of immigrant experience and immigrant impact, and the intersection with key social justice issues, through narrative journalism grounded in data and context; and
• the creation and support of an online community of people and civic organizations that care about immigration and immigrant experience, to inform and extend this coverage and engage a more diverse audience.

The funding from the Ford Foundation will enable PRI to add new editorial, technology, and digital resources and capacity to carry out these activities. Over the next two years, the initiative will result in over 180 contextual, nuanced stories about immigrants, immigration, and social justice, for broadcast and online.

Alisa Miller, President and CEO of PRI said, "We are grateful to the Ford Foundation for their support of this important initiative. As immigrants come to our country and our communities, we want to bring their diverse perspectives to light, as a path to understanding our interconnected world."

About Public Radio International^® and PRI's The World^®
For 30 years, Americans have identified PRI as the source of news, information and cultural insights essential to understanding our interconnected world. On almost 900 radio stations across the U.S. and on digital platforms that reach millions around the globe, PRI continues to innovate in sharing powerful stories, connecting people and cultures around the globe, and helping people affect positive change in their lives and the world. More at PRI.org.

Launched by PRI in 1996, PRI's The World is a co-production of PRI, the BBC World Service and WGBH Boston, and is broadcasting's only program dedicated to transforming how Americans experience the world. Through a daily broadcast and robust digital experiences, The World unites global events with the American experience and inspires people to respond to those events as we would to those in our immediate neighborhood. It can be heard on over 300 stations across the U.S. More at Theworld.org.

CONTACT: Julia Yager, PRI, 612.330.9231, [email protected]

SOURCE Public Radio International