"As this study shows, many of the more than 21,000 German foundations contribute a wealth of ideas, and substantial funding, to a wide variety of journalistic projects and grants. But only around 120 foundations profess express support of journalism in their statutes. Unfortunately, the total monetary value of their activities remains in the dark. A project of the not-for-profit ZEIT-Stiftung makes the case in point what a focused engagement can look like. The area of interest is in Eastern Europe, where preconditions for independent reporting are entirely different from Germany, and where information is hard to get hold of, or cannot be accessed at all. Between 2000 and 2016, ZEIT-Stiftung has been awarding its prestigious “Gerd Bucerius Prize for a Free Press in Eastern Europe” for a total of 17 times (from 2004 in cooperation with Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation). In a trusting international cooperation, the two foundations have awarded 97 laureates – 40 journalists and 57 media outlets – with €1.7m overall. The aim: to strengthen independent journalism in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, both foundations have launched the follow up project “Free Media Awards. Supporting Independent Journalism in Eastern Europe“.
It is well worthwhile further to encourage foundations to engage with projects that contribute to better journalism and plurality of opinion. Support for, and the defence of, press freedom; the free flow of information; and improving journalistic standards remain on top of the agenda. Notably, this is precisely not about steering opinion-forming processes, peddling of influence, or surreptitious lobbying. Moreover, foundations are not positioned to mitigate the adverse effects that come with the erosion of traditional business and distribution models. Nor can they develop alternative sources of media revenue. But as actors of civic society, foundations can uphold the importance of journalism. They can insist on the diversity, quality, and relevance of journalism – values that are constitutive for an open society. They can do so, for instance, through endowed journalism professorships, or by way of training and exchange programmes for mid-career journalists." (Foreword, pages 5-6)