CPB To Honor Slain NPR Journalists

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees the outlay of government funding for public TV and radio, has awarded a $400,000 grant to NPR to seed a fund in honor of slain NPR photojournalist David Gilkey and journalist/interpreter Zabihullah Tamanna, who were killed June 5 while covering the war in Afghanistan.

“David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna were masters of their craft who shared a passion for their work and extraordinary courage to go where few do to report stories of international importance,” said CPB President Pat Harrison. “Through this fund, we honor their work and want to ensure that their legacy lives on through public media’s global journalism.”

The fund will underwrite "equipment, training, and support for international coverage and video journalism at NPR [visuals are important to NPR web stories, as well as for NPR Live and other platforms]."

It was announced this week at the Public Radio Program Directors Association conference in Phoenix.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.