Internews Announces Commitment to Bolster Financial Sustainability of Local News Worldwide at Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Meeting

Internews President Jeanne Bourgault delivers remarks during the Clinton Global Initiative's 2024 Annual Meeting. Photo Credit: Juliana Thomas for the Clinton Foundation.

New York, September 23, 2024 — At the 2024 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting on September 23, Internews President Jeanne Bourgault, during a session presided by Secretary Hillary Clinton, announced Internews’ 2024 Commitment to Action: the launch of the Media Viability Accelerator (MVA), a free platform aimed at boosting the financial sustainability of local news outlets worldwide.

The Media Viability Accelerator is a free, web-based platform designed to support independent media in becoming more financially sustainable. It is made possible through a unique public-private partnership with USAID and Microsoft’s Democracy Forward initiative, as well as support and engagement from a growing list of partners. The MVA aims to bolster media sustainability and resilience by supporting independent news outlets globally to measure business success, benchmark their performance, and access an ecosystem of partners and solutions. 

“The MVA aims to fight back ‘media extinction’ and ensure that news organizations – particularly vital local news organizations – remain in business and do what they do best: defend and uphold democracy by ensuring that everyone, everywhere is informed and able to thoughtfully engage in their communities,” Bourgault said.

Internews President Jeanne Bourgault delivers remarks during the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2024 Annual Meeting. Photo Credit: Juliana Thomas for the Clinton Foundation.

During her remarks, Bourgault, on behalf of Internews, pledged to sign up to 2,000 additional struggling news organizations to use the MVA platform and to engage 20 more corporate and philanthropic partners to lend their support and expertise over the next two years. As the success of these 2,000 news organizations is bolstered through the MVA, they will be able to employ tens of thousands of journalists, reaching audiences of millions of people.

To date, 260 news outlets have signed up to the platform in the soft launch stage. News outlets interested in joining the platform can visit www.mva.net to learn more. Financial and technical support for building the MVA was generously provided by USAID and Microsoft respectively. The MVA is supported by a coalition of leading media development organizations including Free Press for Eastern Europe, Free Press Unlimited, Global Forum for Media Development, IREX, SembraMedia, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and led by Internews.