The Globe and Mail launches foundation to fund journalism education, training and research

The Globe and Mail is launching a charitable foundation to provide education and training in journalism and fund research and reporting into pressing issues of public interest.

The Globe and Mail Foundation, announced Monday, will seek to raise funding that will be used to hold events, create training programs and carry out research. It aims to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to quality journalism, and to strengthen public trust in media.

The foundation will operate independently from The Globe and Mail newspaper, with a separate staff and independent board of directors. The Globe and Mail will remain a for-profit, private company and may partner with the foundation on some projects of mutual interest, as well as helping to promote its work.

“With disinformation and misinformation on the rise due to the removal of fact-checking on social media platforms, the increasing fragmentation of media, and the rapid proliferation of AI generated content, the practice of fact-based journalism has never been more at risk,” said Andrew Saunders, The Globe’s president and chief executive officer. “The foundation will help ensure all Canadians have access to a high standard of fact-based journalism.”

The Globe has been working toward launching a charitable foundation for several years. The new entity will use its resources to promote strong ethical standards in journalism, the company said in a news release. It will produce journalism and educational materials that will be made available to the public at no cost.

It will also ensure new journalists can access training to help them develop the skills to do high-quality work in the field. Programs could include a photojournalism academy to nurture a new cohort of photojournalists, as well as fellowships and internships.

The Globe’s former CEO and publisher Phillip Crawley, who led the newspaper for 25 years and retired in 2023, will chair the foundation’s board. Mr. Crawley has served for two decades on hospital boards and is currently chair of the Sunnybrook Foundation, which supports the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a leading hospital in Toronto. He plans to step down from that role in September.

“I have dedicated much of my career to the pursuit of truth,” Mr. Crawley said. “I cannot think of a more worthwhile endeavour than the protection and promotion of accurate, responsible, fact-based journalism. I am honoured to be the first chair of The Globe and Mail Foundation board.”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-globe-and-mail-charitable-foundation

The Globe and Mail logo outside the company's headquarters in 2020.