The ACOS Alliance is expanding its footprint with the signing of ten new signatories, including UK-based global news organization Sky News, independent Russian media outlet ROMB and the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), the world’s leading network of media development and journalism support organisations.
Also joining the Alliance are regionally-based media start ups Postindustrial, a Pennsylvania-based news outlet serving local news audiences in the USA, Meydan TV, Azerbaijan's largest independent independent news channel, the Media council of Kenya and NGO's Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT) Media Action Nepal and the Media Foundation for West Africa. The US-based Prison Journalism Project, which trains incarcerated writers to become journalists, has also signed up.
As signatories, all organizations have endorsed the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles - the blueprint of global safety standards for journalists and newsrooms that sits at the heart of the Alliance's work - and will work with the Alliance to promote the Principles within their organizations and among their communities. They will also be encouraged to work collaboratively on safety issues and invited to engage in conversations that advance safety best practice and innovation, including participation in the Annual ACOS Safety Coordination Meeting.
"This is an exciting period of expansion for the ACOS Alliance, which shows a growing awareness of the importance of the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles among young and established media organizations", said Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director of the ACOS Alliance. "But we also need to equip journalists and newsrooms with the skills that enable them to to implement the Principles, so we look forward to working with our new signatories to reach their communities of journalists and editors with safety training opportunities and resources."
The ACOS Alliance (A Culture Of Safety Alliance) is a unique global coalition of 152 news organizations, journalist associations and press freedom NGOs working together to champion safe and responsible journalism practices. The Alliance’s mission is to embed a culture of safety within journalism so that independent media and journalists globally play their essential role in upholding democracy.