Internews
Professional services
UnclaimedInternews is a United States-based nonprofit that supports independent media, journalists, and information access in countries around the world.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Internews, formerly known as Internews Network, is a United States-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on international media development, information access, and digital rights. Established in California in 1982 by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger, the organization works with local media outlets, journalists, filmmakers, technologists, and civil-society groups rather than operating primarily as a conventional consumer-facing media company. Its work has included support for radio stations serving displaced communities, hyperlocal news organizations, independent broadcasters, investigative journalists, and technology projects intended to improve the reach, safety, and sustainability of public-interest information. Internews describes its mission as supporting independent media in roughly 100 countries. Its programs combine journalist training, media-management assistance, digital-security and digital-rights work, responses to disinformation, and practical support for outlets seeking stronger financial and operational models. The organization has also worked on communication in humanitarian emergencies, where reliable local information can affect public health, personal safety, access to aid, and community resilience. Its international activities are commonly delivered through partnerships with local institutions and field offices, reflecting a development-oriented model rather than direct ownership of a global news network. One of Internews's earliest and most distinctive initiatives was the Spacebridge program, which used satellite links to connect audiences and participants in the United States and the Soviet Union. The project culminated in the television program "Capital to Capital," broadcast by ABC and recognized with an Emmy Award in 1988. This early emphasis on cross-border communication anticipated the organization's later interest in using communications technology to expand access to independent information. Internews has also maintained a relationship with Internews Europe, an independent media-development organization headquartered in London and primarily supported by European funding. Beginning in early 2015, Internews Network and Internews Europe moved toward closer integration and cooperative operations while retaining independent boards. The relationship broadened the organization's access to European as well as United States institutional funding and supported a wider international program structure. The organization is funded mainly by governments, particularly United States and European public agencies, with additional support from foundations, corporations, and individual donors. Publicly identified funders have included the United States Agency for International Development, other United States government sources, the European funding community, the AOL-Time Warner Foundation, the Beagle Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This funding model has enabled large-scale international programs but has also prompted criticism and scrutiny concerning donor influence, political alignment, and the role of foreign-funded organizations in media environments. Internews's Center for Innovation & Learning, based in Washington, D.C., has served as a platform for testing communications approaches and sharing lessons from the organization's country programs. Its Media Map project, developed with the World Bank Institute and the Brookings Institution and supported by the Gates Foundation, examined relationships between information access and outcomes involving governance, economic development, poverty reduction, human rights, gender equality, and health. In the present-day media environment, Internews's positioning centers on strengthening locally rooted, independent information systems while addressing threats such as disinformation, censorship, weak business models, conflict, displacement, and digital insecurity.
History
Internews was formed in California in 1982 by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. From its beginning, the organization concentrated on communications as a means of supporting public understanding and independent media across political borders. Rather than building a traditional international newspaper or broadcast chain, it developed projects with local journalists, broadcasters, and other communication practitioners. Its early Spacebridge initiatives connected people in the United States and the Soviet Union by satellite. These exchanges demonstrated how communications infrastructure could be used to encourage dialogue across geopolitical divisions. The work culminated in "Capital to Capital," a television series broadcast on ABC that received an Emmy Award in 1988. The project became an important early example of the organization's use of communications technology for international exchange. Over subsequent decades, Internews expanded from cross-border broadcasting into broader media-development work. Its programs supported independent newsrooms, radio stations, journalists, filmmakers, and technology practitioners. Training and technical assistance addressed reporting skills, newsroom management, audience reach, digital security, and the financial sustainability of media outlets. The organization also developed work in humanitarian settings, including support for information services used by refugees and other communities affected by crisis. Internews established an innovation and research function through the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning in Washington, D.C. The center gathered lessons from field programs and tested new approaches to communication. Its Media Map project, undertaken with the World Bank Institute and the Brookings Institution and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, studied links between access to information and indicators such as democratic governance, economic growth, poverty reduction, human rights, gender equality, and health. Internews Europe developed as an independent London-based media-development organization whose work relied substantially on European funding. In early 2015, Internews Network and Internews Europe began operating in closer cooperation and pursuing greater organizational integration, while retaining independent boards of directors. This arrangement connected the organization's United States and European operating and funding networks. The organization's funding has primarily come from United States and European governments, especially the United States Agency for International Development and other public sources, supplemented by foundations, corporations, and individuals. This structure has allowed Internews to conduct programs at international scale, but it has also generated criticism about donor dependence and the possibility of foreign policy influence. The organization has faced scrutiny in countries where foreign-funded media-development work is politically sensitive. A notable legal controversy occurred in Russia in 2007, when police raided the office of the Educated Media Foundation, an Internews section that trained journalists and supported independent media. The raid formed part of an investigation into its president, Manana Aslamazyan, who had been accused of bringing excessive cash into Russia after traveling from France. In 2008, Russia's Constitutional Court ruled that the charges were illegal, after which the Interior Ministry dropped the charges and an arrest warrant. Internews continues to present itself as a nonprofit partner for independent media and trustworthy information. Its contemporary areas of work include journalism training, digital rights, disinformation, media resilience, emergency communications, technology, and business assistance. Its scale and government-supported funding have made it an influential actor in international media development, while also ensuring continued attention to questions of transparency, independence, and political context.
- 2015
Closer cooperation with Internews Europe begins
[1]Internews Network and Internews Europe begin operating more closely while maintaining independent boards.
- 2008
Russian charges against Manana Aslamazyan are dropped
[1]After Russia's Constitutional Court rules that the charges were unlawful, the Interior Ministry drops the charges and arrest warrant.
- 2007
Educated Media Foundation office is raided in Russia
[1]Russian police raid the office of an Internews section during an investigation involving its president, Manana Aslamazyan.
- 1988
Capital to Capital receives an Emmy Award
[1]The Spacebridge initiative culminates in the ABC television program Capital to Capital, which receives an Emmy Award.
- 1982
Internews is established
[1]David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger establish the organization in California.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit international media-development organization that strengthens independent, locally produced information through training, technology, digital-rights work, humanitarian communications, and newsroom sustainability support.
International communications project
Spacebridge
A series of satellite-mediated communications projects connecting participants in the United States and the Soviet Union. Spacebridge was among Internews's earliest efforts to use broadcast and telecommunications technology to create dialogue across national and ideological boundaries.
Television program · 1988
Capital to Capital
An ABC television series that grew out of the Spacebridge program and linked audiences across the United States and Soviet Union. The program was broadcast in 1988 and received an Emmy Award.
Professional services and capacity building
Media-development programs
Country and regional programs that support journalists, broadcasters, filmmakers, technologists, and local news organizations through training, technical assistance, editorial support, audience development, and organizational strengthening.
Digital rights and journalism support
Digital rights and information integrity programs
Work addressing digital safety, rights, disinformation, and access to trustworthy information. These programs are intended to help media workers and communities operate more safely and make information systems more resilient.
Research and data project
Media Map
A project associated with the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning that examined relationships between information access and outcomes in governance, economic development, poverty reduction, human rights, gender equality, and health.
Controversies
2008
Charges against Manana Aslamazyan are declared unlawful
Russia's Constitutional Court ruled that the charges against Aslamazyan were illegal. The Interior Ministry subsequently dropped the charges and an arrest warrant.
2007
Raid on the Educated Media Foundation in Russia
Russian police raided an Internews-affiliated organization that trained journalists and promoted independent media. The action was connected to an investigation of its president, Manana Aslamazyan, over allegations concerning cash brought into Russia from France.
Scrutiny over government funding and alleged media influence
Internews has been criticized by some commentators and a Turkish state-linked media agency over its substantial United States government funding and alleged role in influencing media systems. The allegations are contested and contrast with the organization's stated mission of supporting independent media.
Brand decisions
2015
Closer operational cooperation with Internews EuropeStrategyBackground
Internews Network and the independently organized Internews Europe had overlapping international media-development objectives and distinct United States and European funding bases.
Action taken
The organizations began integrating their activities more closely and operating cooperatively while retaining independent boards of directors.
Aftermath
The arrangement created a more coordinated international operating structure without evidence in the available material that the two legal organizations fully merged.
Recent events
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