Why the Golden Globe Foundation remains committed to supporting journalists
May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day, a day perhaps of greater significance this year when journalists around the globe are under more fire than ever.
With jobs, sources of funding, and editorial independence all being cut and under threat, every bit of support matters, including that of the Golden Globe Foundation, which includes support of journalism and free speech among its charitable priorities. The foundation, which was established in 2023 following the sale of the Golden Globes and the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has funded over $60 million over the last 30 years, including 83 grants last year to organizations including Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, International Women's Media Foundation, Los Angeles Press Club, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, ProPublica, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Journalism students have also received grants and scholarships, like those at Cal State Los Angeles (pictured above).
More from GoldDerby
For the first time in 9 years, the Critics Choice Awards will take place before the Golden Globes
2026 Golden Globes ceremony date revealed
'A Minecraft Movie' surprised everyone with record-breaking box office. Could awards be next?
"The Golden Globe Foundation champions freedom of the press and expression, recognizing them as essential pillars to our democracy," says Henry Arnaud, president of the Golden Globe Foundation. "We're committed to supporting the vital role journalists play in safeguarding our communities, disseminating important information, uncovering truths and holding power to account, often at great personal risk.'
The scope of the grants, which are funded partly by the licensing fees from the awards show, is wide, from film restoration to film schools to institutions that help and support the press. 'We try to see where the impact is going to go the furthest,' says Miriam Spritzer, a member of the board which disperses the grants. But for her, the cause is personal. 'We're all international journalists; we're all foreign correspondents to outlets outside of the U.S.' she says. 'And I think as journalists, one of the common beliefs [among us] is that freedom of press and the First Amendment are very important. It was a sentiment that a lot of [members] had that we should be helping our colleagues and our industry in a way that was to support freedom of press and to support journalists so that they are able to do what they're supposed to do.'
Italian journalist Silvio Bizio, who has been on the committee dispensing grants since the HFPA era, has seen first-hand the impact the donations can make. 'I have personally known so many students and aspiring journalists whose lives have really been helped tremendously or changed by the amount of scholarships and support that we've given them,' she says. Bizio recounts meeting a student from India who was granted a scholarship to the University of Southern California. 'She was just overjoyed at the idea of being there,' she recalls. 'She said never in a million years in her wildest dreams as she thought that she could have ended up in Los Angeles.'
Another GGF grantee is the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a 25-year-old independent non-profit organization which works with investigative reporters from around the world on breaking global stories. Gerard Ryle, who heads the ICIJ, credits the annual $100,000 grant from the GGF for literally allowing them to keep the lights on — the organization has a building in D.C. that serves as a home base for working reporters. 'We don't just bring journalists the story,' he says, 'we build the technology and tools that allow them to work.' He points to the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers as examples of projects they led where millions of pages of documents could be parsed by journalists around the world. A more recent example was a story about dissidents around the world being targeted by China, which was shared with The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Le Monde. 'The essential role that I think investigative reporting plays is really telling the world something's wrong so that the world can help make it right. So our role is really to expose abuses, foster transparency, and contribute to trust building but most importantly of course it's holding power to account.'
But funding, like that provided by the GGF, is increasingly rare, says Ryle — especially support that comes with no demands of editorial control. 'We're very careful not to take any funding where someone's telling us what to do,' he says. 'We're suffering because we used to get funding from the U.S. government through the State Department, and we've just lost that.'
The need for rigorous journalistic training is more important than ever, says Bizio, pointing to the recent Los Angeles wildfires, where local reporters delivered critical safety news to Los Angelenos. 'I was glued to the TV, watching them brave fires right in front of them, and I was thinking, thank goodness that they exist,' she recalls. 'If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't know what's going on. it's so important the role of journalists in today's world. So I hope they can continue to exist and have the access and the means to make it to survive as journalists.'
But the risk has never been more profound than now, in the current political climate. 'There has been a natural reaction that a lot of people are concerned about freedom of press and the security of journalists,' says Spritzer. 'The job of the journalist is to go and ask the hard questions and kind of be of almost like a watchdog to power. I think that that's becoming harder and harder throughout the world to actually have a say, to have an impact, to be able to even have the access to ask the hard questions.'
International journalists report fearing the fallout not just from the administration's anti-press stance but also the anti-immigration stance as well. 'There is a difference between being a citizen and someone with a visa,' says Spritzer. 'My lawyer explained to me that as a foreigner with a work visa, you have a privilege, not a right. It's different from when you when you're an American citizen. And I remember that that was a big insight for me.'
International journalists are sharing advice on social media sites about whether or not to leave the country, what to store on their phones, or whether to even be on social media at all. 'Journalists are not getting back into the country,' says one reporter, who asked not to be named. 'A couple of people I know, when they went through immigration, were being asked to hand over their phones. And if there was anything negative about [President Donald] Trump, they were detained.' She's now thinking twice, she says, about covering the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, over fears about being let back into the U.S.
But beyond just the privilege of festival travel, some international journalists interviewed by Gold Derby said they'd think twice about writing about a film critical of the president, like last year's The Apprentice. 'I think it would definitely impact my decision on whether to write about it and how I'd write about it,' said one journalist. 'It just wouldn't be worth me writing the story.'
For Ryle, the main concern is media literacy, which has never been more critical. 'We have to teach the upcoming generation the difference between real and not real,' he says. 'You've got to fund the journalism, but you've got to fund the people that are educating the future generation.'
What advice do you give to journalists that are coming into the field now?
Says Spritzer: 'Brace yourself.'
Note: Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge and Penske Media Corporation, which owns Gold Derby.
Best of GoldDerby
Streamy Awards 2023: Everything to know about 13th annual event
Click here to read the full article.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

34 minutes ago
Popular TikTok star leaves US after being detained
LAS VEGAS -- LAS VEGAS (AP) — Khaby Lame, the world's most popular TikTok personality with millions of followers, has left the U.S. after being detained by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa. The Senegalese-Italian influencer, whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained Friday at Harry Reid International Airport but was allowed to leave the country without a deportation order, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed in a statement. Lame arrived in the U.S. on April 30 and 'overstayed the terms of his visa,' the ICE spokesperson said. The Associated Press sent a message seeking comment Tuesday to the email address listed on Lame's Instagram account. He has not publicly commented on his detainment. His detainment and voluntary departure from the U.S. comes amid President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on immigration, including raids in Los Angeles that sparked days of protests against ICE, as the president tests the bounds of his executive authority. A voluntary departure — which was granted to Lame — allows those facing removal from the U.S. to avoid a deportation order on their immigration record, which could prevent them from being allowed back into the U.S. for up to a decade. The 25-year-old rose to international fame during the pandemic without ever saying a word in his videos, which would show him reacting to absurdly complicated 'life hacks." He has over 162 million followers on TikTok alone. The Senegal-born influencer moved to Italy when he was an infant with his working class parents and has Italian citizenship. His internet fame quickly evolved. He signed a multi-year partnership with designer brand Hugo Boss in 2022. In January, he was appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens Of Journalists Targeted, Shot, Detained While Covering LA Protests, Press Org Says
Shocking video and photos taken amid the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles show journalists and news crews being shot, detained and forced off public property by law enforcement, raising concerns of excessive force and First Amendment rights violations. There have been more than 30 incidents of police violence against journalists as of Tuesday, including 20 injuries, at least five of which required emergency room or urgent care visits, said Adam Rose, the press rights chair with the Los Angeles Press Club, which released a statement Monday urging an end to the targeting of journalists whose work is constitutionally protected. The list of injuries includes a freelance photojournalist requiring emergency surgery Sunday night after being shot in the leg with a three-inch piece of plastic that he believes was designed to be shot and explode above a crowd. Graphic photos shared with HuffPost show a gaping wound in Nick Stern's right thigh that he said has left him unable to walk or move without assistance. 'Why this device was shot at human, kind of, waist high level, I do not know. The people around me at that time was doing nothing more than waving Mexican flags,' he told HuffPost. Stern, who said he has three decades of experience photographing public protests, including in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the George Floyd protests in 2020, expressed concern that people may die from the excessive use of force that he witnessed and experienced firsthand. 'I never thought for one moment that I'd actually have to be fearful of law enforcement during a public protest but that seems to be where the danger to journalists comes from,' he said. Also Sunday, photographer Toby Canham said he was shot in the forehead with a rubber bullet while snapping pictures of law enforcement gathered along a highway. The British Army veteran, who was on assignment for the New York Post, photographed the projectile flying at him split seconds before it hit him in the head. He was treated for whiplash and neck pain at a local hospital Monday, the Post reported. 'It's a real shame. I completely understand being in the position where you could get injured, but at the same time, there was no justification for even aiming the rifle at me and pulling the trigger, so I'm a bit pissed off about that, to be honest,' he told the paper, while sharing photos of his bloodied head. Australian broadcast journalist Lauren Tomasi had just finished reporting live from Los Angeles' downtown area on Sunday when her news outlet, 9 News, reported that an officer turned his gun toward her and fired a rubber bullet from close range. Video shows Tomasi jumping and yelling in pain. U.S. Correspondent Lauren Tomasi has been caught in the crossfire as the LAPD fired rubber bullets at protesters in the heart of Los Angeles. #9NewsLATEST: — 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 9, 2025 Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs immediately joined in on condemning the shooting, stating 'that all journalists should be able to do their work safely.' CNN's Jason Carroll was also reporting live from the scene on Monday when cameras captured him being detained by officers with his hands bound behind his back. Another video posted by reporter Sergio Olmos shows Carroll and a videographer being violently shoved by police while they're standing along a sidewalk. Similar videos posted on social media show journalists being shoved, shot and pushed out of public areas despite audibly identifying themselves as members of the press. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NBCLA (@nbcla) Homeland Security agents shot me and other journalists with pepper ball bullets yesterday in Los Angeles — @ (@ryannemena) June 7, 2025 The LA Press Club joined several press freedom organizations Monday expressing concern to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that federal officers are violating journalists' First Amendment rights while they cover the protests. 'In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news,' a letter addressed to Noem by the organizations states. 'Under the First Amendment, journalists who are merely reporting on events and not interfering with federal operations cannot be subject to general dispersal orders and 'cannot be punished for the violent acts of others,' and the 'proper response' to any unlawful conduct is 'to arrest those who actually engage in such conduct, rather than to suppress legitimate First Amendment conduct as a prophylactic measure,'' the letter continues. Rose told HuffPost they have not received a response from DOH as of Tuesday. Noem's office also did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment. Trump Sets National Guard On Los Angeles As Protesters Counter Immigration Raids: Live Updates CNN Journalist Reports On Being 'Detained' By Police As It Happens Reporter Gets Hit By Rubber Bullet At LA Protest, Sparking Shock Allegation FBI Puts LA Protester On 'Most Wanted' List As Government Threatens Crackdown


San Francisco Chronicle
44 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Associated Press seeks full appeals court hearing on access to Trump administration events
The Associated Press on Tuesday asked for a hearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, seeking to overturn a three-judge panel's ruling that allowed the Trump administration to continue blocking AP access to some presidential events — a four-month case that has raised questions about what level of journalistic access to the presidency the First Amendment permits. Three judges of that court on Friday, in a 2-1 decision, said it was OK for Trump to continue keeping AP journalists out of Oval Office or other small events out in retaliation over the news outlet's decision not to follow his lead in changing the Gulf of Mexico's name. He had sought a pause of a lower court's ruling in AP's favor in April that the administration was improperly punishing the news organization for the content of its speech. 'The decision of the appellate panel to pause the district court's order allows the White House to discriminate and retaliate over words it does not like, a violation of the First Amendment,' AP spokesman Patrick Maks said. 'We are seeking a rehearing of this decision by the full appellate court because an essential American principle is at stake.' A hearing before the full court would change the landscape — and possibly the outcome as well. The two judges who ruled in Trump's favor on Friday had been appointed to the bench by him. The full court consists of nine members appointed by Democratic presidents, and six by Republicans. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. For decades, a reporter and photographer for the AP — a 179-year-old wire service whose material is sent to thousands of news outlets across the world and carried on its own website, reaching billions of people — had been part of a small-group 'pool' that covers a president in places where space is limited. ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at and