The Oklahoma City-based Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation has awarded grants totaling $1.5 million to twenty-one journalism organizations nationwide, NewsOK.com reports.

Grants were awarded to organizations working in the areas of investigative reporting, professional development, and youth education. Recipients include the Investigative News Network, which was awarded $125,000 to develop collaborations, share resources, encourage journalism startups, raise the level of reporting and use of technology, distribute member content, and develop revenue streams; Investigative Reporters and Editors, which received $100,000 for the Watchdog Workshop series, which provides journalists with the tools they need to hold government, business, and community leaders accountable; and Oklahoma Scholastic Media, which was awarded $85,000 to start or improve high school media programs.

The foundation also awarded two grants for special programs, including $40,000 to George Washington University for the second season of its educational/public awareness radio series This Just In!, which explores the transformation of journalism and the evolving roles of media in society; and $30,000 to the International Debate Education Association for Debatepedia, an online encyclopedia of debates, pro and con arguments, and quotations from editorials, op-eds, books, and political statements.