Since 2006, the BIR has been providing strikingly visual and deeply reported video news reports to national and international broadcast outlets, on behalf of an underserved viewing public. It was created by two long-time network news producers who recognized the diminishing supply of international news content on American television — in particular stories about places and topics that are considered falling outside breaking news headlines — and the name chosen to evoke the organization’s mission of recreating the once-robust system of foreign news “bureaus” around the world.
With the arrival of the global pandemic in 2020, the BIR has simultaneously turned its camera lens inward, focusing on more US domestic reporting yet preserving its dedication to stories on “overlooked” issues and communities, human rights and justice. This includes an increasing expertise on environmental and land rights topics and an expansion into digital, long form and other methods of delivering quality journalism to broad audiences.
Funded through individual donations and foundation grants, including from the Henry Luce and Ford Foundations and the Carnegie Corporation, the BIR has reported from five continents and 25 countries and created multiple "themed" series for PBS NewsHour and other national PBS brands; produced live and field content for CNN and CBS; and created long form documentary work for ABC/Disney streaming platforms, including Hulu. It also administers the GlobalBeat international reporting program for graduate students at New York University’s Arthur Carter Journalism Institute.
The BIR has won the Robert F. Kennedy Award in International Human Rights Journalism; an Emmy Award and several nominations including for best story of the year; an Edward R Murrow Award, among other professional recognitions.