Independent Media (chronological order)
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Organized Journalist Training Program in Summer 1991 in partnership with the National Newspaper Association. Brought journalists from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the U.S. for two-month professional training internships with American newspapers. Funding: Knight Foundation and National Newspaper Association
- Sponsored Independent Media training internships with American newspapers, September-November 1992 (10 week internships). Funding: Knight Foundation and National Newspaper Association
- Launched Operation Free Speech in November 1992 to develop modern, decentralized printing networks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in conjunction with the Rochester Institute of Technology. Funding: Freedom Forum
- Organized Business Management for Independent Lithuanian Publishers Seminar, September 1992. Funding: U.S. Information Agenc
- Launched Independent Media Program in 1994 to strengthen and support independent print and electronic media in the Baltics. Funding: NED and the International Media Fund
- Organized a media management seminar in Latvia in May 1994 with the International Media Fund
- In a program co-sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in July 1994, brought professor Halliki Harro from the University of Tartu School of Journalism in Estonia to participate in a workshop on journalist ethics in St. Louis. Prof. Harro, an expert in media ethics and law, authored Estonia’s first textbook addressing the subject of media regulation. Funding: International Media Fund and NED
- Sponsored a workshop for small and regional independent Baltic newspapers on media business management in Jurmala, Latvia in September 1994. Participants included 25 independent newspaper managers from all three countries. Funding: International Media Fund, Freedom Forum and NE
- Facilitated the creation of the Estonian Media College (Tallinn), the Latvian Media Professionals’ Training Center (Jurmala) and the Lithuanian Free Speech Center (Vilnius) in April 1995. USBF funded the founding conventions, office equipment purchase and professional staff training. The new organizations united Baltic media associations to advocate against government policies hindering independent media and to provide training for media professionals. The Lithuanian Free Speech Center, with the support of two U.S. media libel law specialists provided by USBF, was responsible for the drafting and passage of Lithuania’s free speech protection laws in 1996. Funding: International Media Fund and NED
- May 1995 USBF provided seed money and training in order to open the Estonian Media College Foundation, Tallinn