Published on 24 May 2006
The financial situation of Reporters Without Borders remained healthy in 2005, the 20th year of the organisation’s existence, showing a surplus of €17,082, with income of €3,820,098 (up 18% on 2004). The increase was due to bigger donations by the pharmaceutical firm “sanofi aventis” and continued fundraising efforts that made up for a drop in public subsidies.
(2005 accounts)
Our main activity is research and publicity that enables us to expose press freedom violations and lobby the international media to help free imprisoned journalists, bring out newspapers that have been censored elsewhere and ensure that those guilty of serious crimes against journalists are punished.
Whenever press freedom is seriously threatened in a country, we send assistance and fact-finding missions that look at working conditions for journalists, investigate cases of imprisoned or murdered journalists and meet with the local authorities.
(missions)
An assistance fund provides urgent medical, legal and financial help to journalists and media outlets in difficulty.
(assistance fund)
Two annual publications, the worldwide report on press freedom and the country index of press freedom, measure the extent of freedom journalists and media have. They have become important reference books for everyone concerned with these issues.
Two books of photographs are published each year, one on World Press Freedom Day (in May) and the other on Jailed Journalists Support Day (November). An extra one, on the Tour de France cycle race, was published in summer 2005, and another (on the World football Cup) will appear in 2006.
(publications)
Self-generated funding
This reached €1,873,248 in 2005 (up 1% on 2004) but was only 54% of our total income (compared with 67% in 2004 and 58% in 2003).
This came from:
Private donors
This money, from French and foreign private firms and institutions, helped us with celebration of the organisation’s 20th birthday and rose to 27% of total funding (from 10% in 2004), thanks to the pharmaceutical firm “sanofi aventis,” along with the FNAC leisure chain, the French firm CFAO, the French daily paper Ouest-France and the Swiss watch firm Baume & Mercier.
With the French firm Camara, we produced two backpack models with Reporters Without Borders’ name on them. UNESCO paid for a reprint of the Practical Guide for Journalists and, with the French Caisse des Dépôts, the Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents. We were also fortunate, along with The Ladies in White and Nigerian lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim, to receive the Sakharov Prize awarded by the European Parliament to human rights defenders.
Grants from private foundations (Open Society Foundation, Center for a Free Cuba, Fondation de France, National Endowment for Democracy) were slightly up, due to the Africa project funded by the NED and payment by Center for a Free Cuba for a reprint of the banned magazine De Cuba.
Public grants The share of these in the total budget fell to 10% in 2005 (from 19% in 2004).
The money came from the French prime minister’s office and the French foreign ministry, as well as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Some partners give us vital help in kind:
The Reporters Without Borders books of photographs rely on a network of partners:
The French NMPP, SNDP and UNDP press distributors, the Relay chain and Interforum Editis distribute the books free of charge, and France Rail, AAP and Insert handle promotion.
Many media outlets give us great help by providing free publicity for our media campaigns throughout the year.
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