Mission Statement

The Society for Independent Investigative Journalism (SIIJ) is a project of The Progressive Radio Network, which has long provided a forum for courageous journalists whose work is not welcome in corporate media.

The Society’s founding mission is to build a global network of journalists, authors, documentary film makers and storytellers who honor the integrity of truth-telling and are free of financial or partisan conflicts of interest. The SIIJ network specifically repudiates repressive government controls and the elevation of private interests that seek to marginalize or censor dissident voices.

To inspire and abet the foregoing, the Society will make awards to journalists and organizations that best embody its ideals. The awards will recognize not only the achievements of established and celebrated investigative journalists, but also the work of those not yet established or celebrated – or financially secure, which is why each award will be accompanied by a check for $1,000.

We hope that these awards, in their modest way, will encourage newcomers to enter the field, which in turn can help revitalize public interest in the kind of courageous independent journalism that is vital to the functioning of a healthy democratic society.

Advisory Board

Editorial Advisors

– Prof. Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University

– Dr. Gary Kohls, MD, Columnist for Reader Weekly (Duluth, MN)

– Celia Farber, Award-winning Independent Medical Journalist

– Kristina Borjesson, Award-winning Freelance Journalist

– Dirk Pohlmann (Germany), Documentary Film Director, journalist, author