# Global Press Institute

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 female 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

Global Press Institute was founded in 2006 by Cristi Hegranes, an American who had traveled to Nepal as a journalism student. During her time there, Hegranes concluded that a local woman was better equipped to report on a community's story due to their cultural and historical context, as well as their access to authentic sources.

## Mission and impact

Global Press trains and employs local female journalists to report news in their own communities, some of the world's least-covered places. As of 2022, the organization claims 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 model, 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 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.

### Awards

Global Press and its reporters have received international awards and accolades including:
* 2022 Grand Stevie Award, Stevie Awards for Women in Business, awarded to Global Press Institute
* 2022 Community Award, Online News Association (ONA), awarded to Manori Wijesekera, Global Press training manager
* 2022 World Changing Ideas, Fast Company magazine, awarded to Global Press
* 2021 Emerson Collective Dial Fellowship, awarded to Cristi Hegranes
* 2021 Clarion Award for Online Journalism, Journalistic Excellence, awarded to GPJ reporter Shilu Manandhar, Global Press Nepal
* 2021 Webby Award, Best Practices on a Website, International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, awarded to Global Press Journal
* 2021 Gold Medal, International Annual Report Design Awards, awarded to Global Press
* 2021 MUSE Creative Award, International Awards Associate, awarded to Global Press Journal
* 2021 Print Award (longlist), One World Media, awarded to GPJ reporter Shilu Manandhar, Global Press Nepal
* 2021 Award of Excellence, Society for News Design, awarded to Global Press Journal
* 2021 Award of Excellence, The Communicator Awards, awarded to Global Press and Global Press Journal
* 2020 Media Hero of the Year, Stevie Awards for Women in Business, awarded to GPJ reporters
* 2020 Best News Website, Vega Awards, awarded to GPJ reporter Merveille Kavira Luneghe, Global Press DRC
* 2020 Clarion Award for Online Journalism, Association for Women in Communications, awarded to GPJ reporter Gamuchirai Masiyiwa, Global Press Zimbabwe
* 2020 Clarion Award for Online Journalism, Association for Women in Communications, awarded to GPJ reporter Merveille Kavira Luneghe, Global Press DRC
* 2020 Clarion Award for Special Print Communication, Association for Women in Communications, awarded to Global Press
* 2020 Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award, American Psychiatric Association, awarded to Global Press
* 2020 Refugee Reporting Award (shortlist), One World Media, awarded to GPJ reporter Merveille Kavira Luneghe, Global Press DRC
* 2019 GLG Social Impact Fellowship, GLG, awarded to Cristi Hegranes
* 2019 Award of Excellence, Society for News Design, awarded to GPJ reporter Merveille Kavira Luneghe, Global Press DRC
* 2019 Best Places to Work, Inc. Magazine, awarded to Global Press
* 2019 Women-Run Workplace of the Year, Stevie Awards, awarded to Global Press
* 2018, Clarion Award for Online Journalism, Association for Women in Communications, awarded to GPJ senior reporters Kalpana Khanal, Shilu Manandhar, and Yam Kumari Kandel
* 2018 Media Professionalism Award, Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, awarded to GPJ reporter Vimbai Chinembiri, Global Press Zimbabwe
* 2017 LACP Vision Awards, League of American Communications Professionals, awarded to Global Press
* 2017 Leadership Council, Classy, awarded to Cristi Hegranes
* 2017 Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations in the World, Classy Awards, awarded to Global Press
* 2017 WeWork Creator Awards, Scale Award, WeWork, awarded to Global Press Institute
* 2016 Best News Mobile Website, Mobile Web Awards, awarded to Global Press Journal
* 2016 Best Editorial Writing (Honoree), Webby Awards, awarded to Global Press Journal
* 2015 Persephone Miel Fellowship, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, awarded to GPJ reporter Yam Kandel, Global Press Nepal
* 2015 Persephone Miel Fellowship, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, awarded to GPJ reporter Shilu Manandhar, Global Press Nepal
* 2015, Persephone Miel Fellowship, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, awarded to GPJ reporter Wairimu Michengi, Global Press Kenya
* 2014, Boehm Media Fellowship, Opportunity Collaboration, awarded to Cristi Hegranes
* 2013 Ulrich Wickert Award for Child Rights, awarded to Gloriose Isugi and Noella Nbihogo, Rwanda News Desk
* 2012 Zambian Reporter of the Year, HIV/AIDS and Gender-based Violence Coverage, awarded to GPJ reporter Chanda Katango, Zambia News Desk
* 2012 Excellence in Epilepsy Reporting, the International Bureau of Epilepsy, awarded to GPJ reporter Comfort Mussa, Cameroon News Desk
* 2011 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, International Women's Media Foundation, awarded to GPJ reporter Jackee Batanda, Uganda News Desk
* 2011 Kurt Schork Award, Excellence in International Journalism, Reuters, awarded to GPJ reporter Gertrude Pswarayi, Zimbabwe News Desk
* 2011 Kurt Schork Award, Excellence in International Journalism Shortlist, Reuters, awarded to GPJ senior reporter Tara Bhattarai, Nepal News Desk
* 2010 Journalism Innovation Prize, Society of Professional Journalists, awarded to Global Press Institute
* 2008 One of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century, Women's ENews, awarded to Cristi Hegranes
* 2008 Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism, Women's ENews, awarded to Cristi Hegranes