The business of journalism has suffered mightily in the past several years. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic many independent media outlets were hanging on by a thread. When the pandemic hit, it was like a mass extinction event for journalism. This is true in the United States,  Europe and the developed world but even more so in poorer countries.

A free and independent media is a key guardrail for a free and open society — yet many media organizations in the developing world are struggling to stay afloat.

Nishant Lalwani has a plan to help independent media in the developing world thrive. He is managing director of Luminate, a philanthropic institution that supports governance, democracy and media all over the world.

Nishant Lalwani is the policy entrepreneur behind a new International Fund for Public Interest Media. As he explains, the idea is to create an international and multilateral platform in which traditional aid donors and new players alike can combine forces to support independent media.

If you have 25 minutes and want to learn how this new fund could support independent media — and therefore democracy and governance —  around the world, have a listen here.