A July 24 release from the Fallen Journalists Memorial (FJM) Foundation
Today, the Fallen Journalists Memorial (FJM) Foundation announced it is working with AECOM, the world’s leading infrastructure consulting firm, and Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic and consultant Paul Goldberger, to assist with the site selection and design processes for the Fallen Journalists Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Foundation has also engaged strategic communications firm The Levinson Group (TLG), founded by communications strategist and former news executive, Molly Levinson, to drive communications, fundraising and stakeholder engagement.
“We are thrilled to have the expertise of AECOM, The Levinson Group, and Paul Goldberger to help us create the first memorial on federal land in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the importance of a free press and to the journalists who’ve given their lives to bring critical information to the public,” said Barbara Cochran, President of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation. “This team will strive to build a memorial that will raise awareness and educate visitors about threats to a free press and journalists globally.”
AECOM is the premier planning, design, and environmental analysis firm in the Washington, D.C. area over the last 30 years, with unparalleled experience in site selection, process support, design coordination, agency approvals, and regulatory compliance for important projects in the nation’s capital.
Paul Goldberger is a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair, who served as the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker and The New York Times, and currently holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at Parsons School of Design in New York City. He brings a lifetime of experience with architectural design and a consulting portfolio, which includes the new Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station in New York and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He also serves as a design consultant to the Port Authority of New York on the new LaGuardia Airport, and worked as an advisor on architect selection and design for Glenstone, a museum of modern and contemporary art in Potomac, Maryland.
Based in Washington, D.C., TLG is a prominent strategic communications and public affairs firm with deep knowledge of the news media and journalism communities, and extensive experience working on behalf of threatened or harmed journalists and those fighting to support them.
AECOM will complete a study in 2021 to help determine an appropriate site in Washington, D.C. based on several criteria including universal accessibility, program suitability, tranquility, site prominence and visibility, resiliency and sustainability, security and maintenance, and transportation access.
“The Fallen Journalists Memorial is the culmination of dedicated work by the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to honor the reporters, photojournalists, producers, editors, and others in the field, who have died while performing their jobs as journalists,” said Claire Sale, AECOM’s project manager overseeing the memorial. “We are honored to have a role in bringing this memorial to life.”
Mr. Goldberger will provide perspective on the site selection process, oversee the selection of an architect, and develop a process for determining the overall design of the Memorial.
“As a journalist for most of my career, I am especially moved by the urgent message of the Fallen Journalists Memorial. And as an architecture critic and consultant, I am excited by the challenge of helping the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation give shape and form to this powerful project and bring it to realization. It is an honor to be a part of the extraordinary team the Foundation has assembled,” said Mr. Goldberger.
Molly Levinson, CEO of TLG, said, “It has never been more important to honor and affirm America’s commitment to a free press, as threats to media freedom around the world increase. TLG is proud to work with dedicated and talented journalists every day and our firm is honored to partner with the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation in its mission to create a permanent memorial to members of the press who have lost their lives in service to the public.”
Learn more about the Fallen Journalists Memorial and how to support this work at www.fallenjournalists.org or follow us at @FJMemorial.