The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) approved a project spearheaded by the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to place a memorial to commemorate fallen journalists on the National Mall.
The memorial will be funded by private donations with the goal of being completed by the end of 2028 and is supposed to commemorate fallen journalists who died while reporting the news and show the county’s commitment to the First Amendment.
The memorial will be located between the National Museum of the American Indian and the building for Voice of America in Southwest Washington, DC. The memorial will also have a direct line of sight of the U.S. Capitol.
“I want to express my appreciation to the CFA for their diligent review of our site selection study and endorsement of such a preeminent and historically significant site,” said Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation President Barbara Cochran.
This photograph shows cameras and a picture of AFP photographer Bulent Kilic, hang in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Istanbul, on June 29, 2021, during a demonstration held to demand protection for journalists – as the photographer was arrested by police officers while covering a Pride march in the city on June 26. (YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)
“The location of this memorial on the National Mall in direct line of sight of the U.S. Capitol will underscore the significance and value our nation places on press freedom and those who died in service to that cause,” Cochran added.
The foundation said it would partner with Pulitzer Prize-recipient and architecture critic Paul Goldberger to select the designers and architects that will put together the memorial. In a statement, Goldberger said he is “excited” to start the process. He hopes to pick a team to “honor those who have given their lives for this principle in the course of their work as journalists.”
The Hill reported that the number of journalists killed worldwide jumped by 50 percent in 2022. That number included 67 journalists killed worldwide and 41 journalists whose deaths were due to their work.
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Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.