Nairobi, Kenya -- Lasting Value CEO and Texas Association of Broadcasters board member Meredith Beal has been selected as a Knight International Journalism Fellow. He will lead a multi-country project to improve business management practices at media organizations in Africa, creating new revenue streams and developing sustainable business models that can be replicated at media organizations across Africa. His project will focus on business development and improving advertising, marketing, personnel and other management skills. Beal will be based in Nairobi, Kenya and will work with journalists and media managers on projects designed to have a far-reaching impact on the African media landscape. Beal and two other Knight International Journalism Fellows, Joachim Buwembo and Joseph Warungu, will train journalists across the continent to cover climate change issues and create a network of reporters who are able to cover poverty, the economy and other development issues.

Beal will be working with Amadou Mahtar Ba, founder of the partnering organization the African Media Initiative (AMI) and president of AllAfrica.com, the world's largest content provider of African media. AMI will host the Africa Media Leaders Forum in Tunisia in November of 2011. This conference will gather owners and operators of television and radio stations all across Africa to interact with peers, investors, policy makers, development partners and technology leaders.

The International Center for Journalists, which runs the Knight International Journalism Fellowship program, officially launched the fellowship projects following a week-long orientation in Nairobi, July 24-29.