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May 2 (UPI) -- An independent federal agency has approved a plan to build a memorial on the National Mall to honor fallen journalists, officials said. The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation said Monday it has received site approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts for its plan to build a landscape memorial that commemorates the United States' commitment to a free press by honoring journalists who have died while trying to uphold its principles and values.
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The site approved for the monument is between the National Museum of the American Indian and Voice of America at Independence Avenue, Maryland Avenue and 3rd SW.
"The location of this memorial on the National Mall in direct line of sight of the U.S. Capitol will underscore the significance and value our nation places on press freedom and those who died in service to that cause," Barbara Cochran, president of the Fallen journalists Memorial Foundation, said in a statement.
The site approval permits the design and construction process to begin, the foundation said, adding that it will be funded entirely by private donations with a completion date set for the end of 2028.
The foundation added that it has begun working with Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger to find potential architects, designers and artists to create the memorial, which aims to represent "the full breadth of journalism -- past present and future."
"The memorial will serve as a place of reflection and appreciation for those who lost their lives, a convening space for commemoration and a focal point for learning about the First Amendment and the role of journalism in a functioning democracy," it said.
The announcement comes after President Joe Biden late last year signed legislation as part of the omnibus appropriations bill to approve the construction of the memorial on the mall.
According to the foundation, it will be the first memorial on U.S. federal land dedicated to press freedom and fallen journalists.
