The American Independent Institute is a nonprofit organization which funds liberal investigative journalism efforts. According to the organization, its aim is to support journalism which exposes "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." The current institute, started by

David Brock David Brock (born July 23, 1962) is an American liberal political consultant, author, and commentator who founded the media watchdog group Media Matters for America. He has been described by ''Time'' as "one of the most influential operatives ...

in 2014, is a relaunch of the former state-based digital news-gathering network known as the American Independent News Network.

History

The American Independent News Network was founded as the Center for Independent Media in 2006 by David S. Bennahum, a former journalist with ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

''. The group had a stated mission of "investigating and disseminating news that impacts public debate and advances the common good." It operated a news network which consisted of state-based daily news sites '' The Colorado Independent'', ''Florida Independent'', ''Iowa Independent'', ''Michigan Messenger'', '' Minnesota Independent'', ''New Mexico Independent'', and ''Washington Independent''. It changed its name to the American Independent News Network in 2010. In 2011, the organization's founder, David S. Bennahum, departed the organization after shutting down most of the organization's state websites. The group peaked in traffic and revenues in 2009 and 2010 before both numbers dropped off considerably. By 2013, the American Independent News Network had shuttered all of it sites and gone on hiatus. The

Project for Excellence in Journalism The Project for Excellence in Journalism was a tax-exempt research organization in the United States that used empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press. The organization's director was Tom Rosenstiel, a professor of ...

of the Pew Research Center surveyed and analyzed nonprofit news organizations active on the state or national level in 2011 and again in 2013. The studies found that the most consistently ideological of the news outlets were those that were organized in networks, specifically the conservative Watchdog.org network and the liberal American Independent News Network. The 2011 study found that "the liberal American Independent News Network oesn't... reveal much about who's paying their bills, and tswork skews clearly in one direction, both in the topics t coversand the content of individual stories".

2014 relaunch

In 2014, the dormant American Independent News Network organization was re-launched by

as the American Independent Institute, a journalistic grant-making entity focused on liberal investigative journalism. ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'' reported that year that Brock's newly relaunched group would disperse $320,000 in grants to "reporters investigating right-wing misdeeds."

References

External links

* {{official website, http://americanindependent.com Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. 501(c)(3) organizations American news websites 2006 establishments in Washington, D.C. American journalism organizations