Freedom of the Press Foundation

Earlier this week, a group of high-profile journalists and free-speech activists announced the launch of the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), an initiative intended to thwart a two-year financial blockade against WikiLeaks and to fund-raise for similar nonprofit organizations.

Designed to fund journalism institutions that are dedicated to "aggressive, uncompromising journalism in the vein of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers," FPF collects donations for media outlets that expose "mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government." As WikiLeaks puts it, FPF "will crowd-source fundraising and support for organizations or individuals under attack for publishing the truth."

FPF's co-founders include legendary "Pentagon Papers" whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg; John Perry Barlow, who co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and for decades wrote lyrics for the Grateful Dead; EFF writer and activist Trevor Timm, who is also FPF's Executive Director; and Rainey Reitman, who co-founded the Bradley Manning Support Network and serves as FPF's Chief Operating Officer. Also on the board of directors are Guardian columnist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald; actor and activist John Cusack; award-winning documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras; Boing Boing co-founder and co-editor Xeni Jardin; and Josh Stearns of Free Press. EFF web developer Micah Lee is FPF's Chief Technology Officer.