Abbreviation | FJM Foundation |
---|---|
Formation | June 26, 2019 |
Founders | |
Type | Nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) |
Purpose | Establishment of a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to commemorate journalists |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
Method | Donations |
Key people |
|
Website | www |
The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation (FJM Foundation) exists to construct a permanent memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to honor fallen journalists. [1] The effort was launched as an initiative of the Tribune Publishing Company by its chairman, David Dreier, at the National Press Club Journalism Institute in June 2019. That marked the first anniversary of the deadliest assault against journalists in United States history. [2] [3] On June 28, 2018, a gunman killed five employees in the newsroom of Tribune's Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. [4] [5]
Dreier, who is a former senior member of the United States House of Representatives (1981–2013) and a longtime champion of press freedoms, has said that he looks forward to leading this multi-year effort to its completion. [6] [2] [3]
The only memorial commemorating journalists located in Washington, D.C., resided at the Newseum, which closed at the end of 2019. [7] Dreier has said that, in addition to the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette in 2018, the closing of the Newseum provided inspiration for the FJM project. [8]
The Annenberg Foundation and the Michael and Jackie Ferro Foundation have provided initial funds for the FJM Foundation. [9]
The enactment of federal legislation is required to authorize the establishment of a commemorative work in Washington, D.C. [10] The approval of the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission is required as well. [11]
On June 25, 2019, a bipartisan and bicameral group of members of the United States Congress introduced the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act (H.R. 3465 and S. 1969), [12] which would permit the construction of a Fallen Journalists Memorial in Area I (not including the "Reserve") or Area II of Washington, D.C., as depicted by U.S. National Park Service Map Number 869/86501 B dated June 24, 2003. [13] This permissible area includes all of Washington, D.C. except the "Reserve" (shaded red on the map), which stretches from Lafayette Park neighboring the White House (north) to the Jefferson Memorial (south), and from the Capitol (east) to the Lincoln Memorial (west). [14]
In accordance with the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, the FJM project will be funded with private donations. [15]
On September 24, 2019, representatives from the FJM Foundation, including President Barbara Cochran, testified before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission in support of a permanent memorial to fallen journalists. [11] [16] The Commission tentatively voted to support the effort. [17] On December 4, 2019, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands heard testimony on the memorial from Cochran and Representative Napolitano. [18] On January 15, 2020, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to advance the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act so that the legislation will be considered by the full House of Representatives. [19]
On September 21, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, originally sponsored by Representatives Grace Napolitano (D-California) and Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma). On December 2, 2020, the Senate passed the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act, originally sponsored by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D-Maryland).
On December 23, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act into law.
The foundation has announced that it plans to seek a location for the memorial in Area I of National Park Service Map Number 869/86501, adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. In September 2022, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland recommended that Congress allow the foundation to consider sites in Area I. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 approved a location for the memorial in Area I. The intended location is at 3rd Street and Independence Avenue SW between the Voice of America building and the National Museum of the American Indian. [20]
On March 13, 2024, the foundation announced that Chicago-based architect John Ronan will design the memorial, which will utilize "transparent materials to convey themes of clarity and light to reinforce the importance of the work of journalists," according to foundation chairman David Dreier. [21]
The Newseum was an American museum at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C., dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication.
David Timothy Dreier OAE is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California from 1981 to 2013. He was one of the youngest members ever elected to the United States Congress. Dreier was the youngest chairman of the House Rules Committee in U.S. history, serving from 1999 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2013. He was instrumental in passing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. After leaving Congress, Dreier served on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board under President Barack Obama. He served as the chairman of the Tribune Publishing Company from 2019 to 2020. Dreier is also founder and chair of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.
The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution that is devoted to the study of the Constitution of the United States. Located at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is an interactive museum which serves as a national town hall, hosting government leaders, journalists, scholars, and celebrities who engage in public discussions, including Constitution-related events and presidential debates.
The District of Columbia statehood movement is a political movement that advocates making the District of Columbia a U.S. state, to provide the residents of the District of Columbia with voting representation in the Congress and complete control over local affairs.
Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from the rights of citizens in the 50 U.S. states. The United States Constitution grants each state voting representation in both houses of the United States Congress. It defines the federal district as being outside of any state, and does not grant it any voting representation in Congress. The Constitution grants Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the District in "all cases whatsoever".
Albert Reinold Hunt Jr. is an American journalist, formerly a columnist for Bloomberg View, the editorial arm of Bloomberg News. Hunt hosted the Sunday morning talk show Political Capital on Bloomberg Television and was also a weekly panelist on CNN's Capital Gang and Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields. For decades, he worked in the Washington, D.C. bureau, reporting for the Wall Street Journal.
District of Columbia retrocession is the act of returning some or all of the land that had been ceded to the federal government of the United States for the purpose of creating its federal district for the new national capital, which was moved from Philadelphia to what was then called the City of Washington in 1800. The land was originally ceded to the federal government by Virginia and Maryland in 1790. After moving through various stages of federal and state approval, the Virginia portion was returned in March 1847.
Walt Whitman High School is a public high school located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is named after the 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman. The school serves grades 9-12 for the Montgomery County Public Schools system.
The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial commemorating the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commission to build the memorial in Pershing Park, located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The park, which has existed since 1981, also contains the John J. Pershing General of the Armies commemorative work. In January 2016, the design commission selected the submission "The Weight of Sacrifice", by a team consisting of Joseph Weishaar, Sabin Howard, Phoebe Lickwar, and GWWO Architects, as the winning design, which is expected to be completed by 2024.
The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. The organization advances First Amendment freedoms through programs that include Today's Front Pages, the Power Shift Project, the annual Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference for high school juniors, annual First Amendment Festival, Free Expression Awards and other conferences. Freedom Forum operated the Newseum in Washington, D.C. until 2019, when it sold the building to Johns Hopkins University.
The National Law Enforcement Museum is a museum located in Washington, D.C. It opened on October 13, 2018, and covers American law enforcement through interactive exhibits, historical and contemporary artifact collections, with a dedicated space for research and educational programming. It is a mostly-underground facility located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.'s Judiciary Square near several district and federal courthouses.
The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is a memorial in Washington, D.C., which honors veterans of the armed forces of the United States who were permanently disabled during the course of their national service. Congress adopted legislation establishing the memorial on October 23, 2000, authorizing the Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial Foundation to design, raise funds for, and construct the memorial. The fundraising goal was reached in mid-2010 and ground for the memorial broken on November 10, 2010. The memorial was dedicated by President Barack Obama on October 5, 2014.
The Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial is under planning to be constructed in Washington, D.C. near the Lincoln Memorial. It will honor members of the armed forces who participated in Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield.
The Peace Corps Commemorative is a proposed national commemorative work in Washington, D.C. honoring the historic founding of the Peace Corps and the enduring American ideals that motivated its founding and are expressed in Peace Corps service. The Peace Corps is a volunteer-sending program run by the United States government. Congress authorized the Peace Corps Commemorative in January 2014.
A referendum on statehood for the District of Columbia was held on November 8, 2016. It was the first referendum on statehood to be held in the district. The District of Columbia was created following the passage of the Residence Act on July 9, 1790, which approved the creation of a national capital, the City of Washington on the Potomac River.
On June 28, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at the offices of The Capital, a newspaper serving Annapolis, Maryland, United States. The gunman, Jarrod Ramos, killed five employees with a shotgun and injured two others who were trying to escape. Ramos was arrested shortly thereafter. He pleaded guilty but not criminally responsible to 23 charges; in July 2021, a jury found him criminally responsible. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Maryland history.
Ashley Elizabeth Hinson is an American politician and journalist serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district. She has served in the House since 2021, representing a northeastern district including Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Dubuque.
The Washington, D.C., Admission Act, often referred to simply as the D.C. Admission Act, is a bill introduced during the 116th United States Congress. The bill would grant Washington, D.C., admission into the Union as a state. The bill was originally introduced in the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019, and was reintroduced on January 4, 2021, and January 9, 2023, in the 117th and 118th Congresses. The United States House of Representatives passed it on April 22, 2021.
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation is an American non-profit organization dedicated to planning, funding, and building a memorial focused on the Global War on Terrorism on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.