The Journalism Foundation, an independent charitable organisation that aims to encourage press freedom and investigative journalism both in the UK and abroad, has been launched today.

The foundation is backed by the Lebedev family, who became the owners of The Independent in 2010, a newspaper for which Simon Kelner, the foundation's Chief Executive Officer, was editor in chief for ten years. The trustees of this new non-profit, according to the Journalism Foundation's website, are: "Baroness Kennedy, the renowned human rights lawyer, Lord Fowler, former chair of the House of Commons media select committee, and Sir John Tusa, former director general of BBC World Service". Evgeny Lebedev, Chairman of The Independent and The Evening Standard, will head the board.

The organization aims to support public interest journalism by backing investigative journalism, community reporting and encouraging press freedom in nations like Tunisia where, in the aftermath of massive political change, press freedom is a newly nascent possibility. The foundation also aims to establish bursaries for individual journalists and run a yearly award to recognize achievements in the field.

The project's initial plans include launching two initiatives, one domestic and one international. In the UK, the foundation will sport a web-based community-reporting project in Stoke-on-Trent, www.pitsnpots.co.uk, which aims to provide better coverage of local council matters affecting the town. The Journalism Foundation has also partnered with London City University in order to launch a training scheme for journalists in Tunisia, designed to teach "local journalists how to report in a free and open society".

In an interview with Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism at London City University and Guardian writer, Kelner further elaborated upon the foundation's intentions, categorically stating that it is not interested in "journalism for journalists' sake", but rather meaningful reporting that provides significant benefits for society: "Journalism, like free speech, belongs to everyone. So the projects we're interested in are those designed for the public good."

Despite widespread confusion and disruption in the news business, Kelner is optimistic about the potential for great journalism in the near future: "I don't think there's ever been a better time to be a journalist", he claimed. "As long as one can throw off the idea that journalism is about professionals in traditional media, it's a glorious time to be a journalist".

Sources: The Guardian, The Journalism Foundation