"Initially launched in 2004 by Eurasia-Media, the Russian Independent Print Media Program (RIPMP) provides intensive training and assistance to promising independent local Russian newspapers, under the premise that by nurturing select publications into ‘beacons of excellence’, best practices effectively reverberate through the wider regional Russian newspaper industry. The organization's work over the past 8 years has helped develop and launch quality independent media outposts in small-to-midsize cities across Russia. These publications – in relatively little known places such as Berdsk, Krasnoturinsk, Kachkanar, Zheleznogorsk, Zhukovskii and Pervouralsk to name a few – now regularly receive independently juried awards for their journalism, are admired by like-minded regional newspapers seeking to improve their coverage, and actively work with Eurasia-Media and the AIRP in promoting both organizations’ goals towards fostering quality independent sources of local news in Russia's regions." (Executive summary)