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Journalism and Media Funding in Europe

Brussels: Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association; Journalism Funders Forum (2026)

"Based on a sample of 36 philanthropic organisations from 12 countries, the report shows that while funding for the field remains relatively limited, it is diverse, evolving and increasingly shaped by concerns around democracy, misinformation and the long-term sustainability of independent journalis ... more

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The State of Media Development 2026: Funding, local ownership and adaptation in international media development
New

Ines Drefs, Rose Kimani, Dennis Reineck, Martin Scott

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2026), 85 pp.

"With resources drying up, not least because the U.S. administration has pulled the plug on international development funding, a rise in authoritarianism and another large-scale tech reset looming with AI, media development organizations are struggling to meet the challenges. According to data colle ... more

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Journalism Funds: Building Sustainable Infrastructure for Healthy Information Ecosystems. Why and How the International Fund for Public Interest Media Supports Journalism Funds
New

Pierrick Judeaux, Bridie Rollins, Maha Taki, Jessica White, Sameer Padania

International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) (2026), 24 pp.

"This position paper presents the International Fund for Public Interest Media’s vision for journalism funds as a promising structural and sustainable solution for financing independent journalism at scale. It draws on our experience as a multilateral pooled fund, as well as our work funding, advi ... more

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The Impact of Ending U.S. International Media Assistance

Daniel Sabet, Susan Abbott

Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2026), 45 pp.

"A free press is indispensable to democracy and accountability. Independent media delivers fact-based information to policymakers and voters alike, provides a forum to debate public policy, offers a tool to identify corruption and abuses, furnishes a means to hold political leaders to account, and c ... reates an avenue for those out of power to peacefully express themselves. In recognition of its importance, the United States firmly supported independent journalism around the globe from the aftermath of World War II until 2025. This assistance came to an abrupt halt in early 2025 immediately following the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. The termination of U.S. assistance to hundreds of media organizations, independent outlets, journalists, and civil society organizations came at a particularly hard time for independent media. The sector already faced an existential crisis in many parts of the world in the face of rapid technological change, declining revenues, and shrinking political space. This paper draws on 68 interviews and a global survey of 177 media outlets and media support organizations to chart the financial, sectoral, and political impacts of terminating most U.S. support for independent media. We find the following: The sudden, ill-planned termination of U.S. governmental support caused harm and waste. Depending on the estimate and measurement, prior to the Trump administration, the United States was providing between $135 million and $248 million per year in foreign assistance support for independent media. The termination of almost all awards and payments, including payments for work already completed, was done shockingly fast. It precluded a thoughtful closedown, deprived implementing partners of payments due to them, left many without jobs, and invited costly and lengthy litigation. Unable to pay their bills, the U.S. government’s main media implementing partners fired hundreds of workers and closed offices as their staff were doxed and harassed based on false allegations. The cuts have had wide negative effects. U.S. support not only sustained media organizations but also sought to improve the political and enabling environment for media, strengthen information integrity and resilience, protect the safety and security of journalists, improve the quality of journalism, increase the market viability of media operations, and ensure the reach of independent journalism to underserved areas and populations. The aid cuts have undermined all of these goals. For example, U.S. funds had been used to support a freedom of information act in Zambia, promote information integrity in the Philippines, provide legal support to journalists in the Republic of Georgia threatened by frivolous lawsuits, train and support journalists to conduct investigative journalism in Eastern Europe, improve media business models in Serbia, and strengthen community radio stations in Mozambique. The termination of aid stopped all of these endeavors." (Summarys, page 1) more

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‘A Smaller Budget Means You Have Less Time to Work in the Field, Less Time for Everything’: US Foreign Aid Funding Cuts One Year Later

Michele Barbero, Rawan Damen

Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) (2026)

"In January last year, US President Donald Trump abruptly froze almost all foreign aid provided by the US Agency for International Development and the State Department, including that earmarked for independent media around the world. He then proceeded to slash more than 80% of USAID programs and to ... cut some $60 billion in overall development assistance. The move came as a huge shock — and a devastating blow — for many investigative news outlets, particularly in the Global South, which suddenly found themselves grappling with huge holes in their budgets. GIJN sat down with Rawan Damen, director general of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism(ARIJ), a nonprofit organization based in Jordan that focuses on cross-border collaboration and on empowering journalists in the Middle East, to find out how they are coping one year later. [...] "One year ago, we lost 25% of our annual budget overnight. We worked with the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Projects focused, for example, on the environment, fact-checking, diversity, and gender equality. It was the first time ever in our “ecosystem” that contracts that had been signed, with the work already started, were terminated without being honored. For us, it was a big shock, but other organizations, like some Russian and Iranian exile media, lost 100% of their annual budget that day. Nobody was able to help us — or others — because it was a global funding crisis affecting civil society, human rights defenders, and independent media around the whole world. During 2025, there was a “snowball effect” with less funding coming from Europe, too, as more resources were allocated to defense amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and souring relations between Europe and the US. GIJN: How did these cuts aff ect your day-to-day operations? RD: We managed not to lay people off , but many of our partners and friends had to do that immediately, they had no choice. In our case, because we are a small organization of 30 full-timers and our funding is diversified, we managed to move people from one project to another, although that meant a learning process and adapting to new jobs. But we had, of course, to cut activities and do things in a much cheaper way. This affected our production from a quantitative standpoint, we can’t deny it. Our work typically involves journalists, but also a fact checker, a lawyer, a designer, and a developer, and we had to cut on all levels. The number of investigations we can work on is reduced, but we try our best to preserve quality and do good stories. But when you have a smaller budget, it means that you have less time to work in the field, less time for everything." more

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Funding the Future of Local News: Lessons for the UK and beyond from journalism funds around the world
Deep Insights

Lucas Batt, Rhiannon Davies

Greater Community Media; Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) (2026), 124 pp.

"In this report we have documented ten case studies of visionary journalism support funds that we can learn from, drawing out insights and experiences from interviews with the people behind these funds. As we ourselves have been founders and leaders of pioneering local news organisations in the UK, ... more

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Meeting the Revenue Challenge: Philanthropy's Role in Local News Growth

Mark Fuerst, Caroline Porter, Feather Houstoun

Philadelphia, PA: Wyncote Foundation (2026), 32 pp.

"Starting in February 2025, we set out to identify and examine success stories among local news groups, where success was sustainability in business operations, even if that term has a range of interpretations. We reasoned that the experiences of these successful organizations might carry predictive ... more

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Buying time, not markets: The limits of donor funding in Hungary’s captured media system

Marius Dragomir, Robert Nemeth

Journalism (2026), 20 pp.

"Independent journalism faces converging pressures from media capture, volatile donor priorities, and platform-driven markets accelerated by generative AI. This article presents 5 years (2020–2025) of first-hand evidence from a donor-funded program to support journalism in Hungary that combined co ... more

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Targeted: How cuts to US foreign aid threaten freedom of expression and its defenders worldwide

London: Article 19 (2026), 112 pp.

"Between January and April 2025, the United States government implemented massive and immediate cuts to foreign aid spending. Our new report Targeted explores the global impact of those cuts on freedom of expression and the people working to defend it. The cuts have weakened civil society’s capac ... more

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Support for Ukrainian Refugees Through Media: Summary of Project Achievements

Paris: UNESCO (2025), 10 pp.

"Through this project, UNESCO strengthened fact-based information exchange between refugees and host citizens as media audience. In doing so, it fostered social cohesion. The project assisted the media in their portrayal of the diversity of viewpoints, and governments in their response to the refuge ... more

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The State of Media Development: Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Giorgi Jangiani

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2025), 20 pp.

"The report highlights both urgent challenges and emerging opportunities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia — a region grappling with financial instability driven by the Russian war in Ukraine, political manipulation, declining support from tech platforms, and the potential loss of decades of accu ... mulated human and intellectual capital in the media sector. These challenges are further compounded by growing polarization, opaque platform-dominated markets, and increasingly repressive legislation. As a result, many media organizations are being forced into untenable choices between defending press freedom and investing in innovation and content production. Despite these pressures, the study emphasizes the resilience and adaptability of local media actors. Donor support remains meaningful in key areas such as institutional strengthening, coordination, research/learning and promoting local ownership. However, the report stresses that financial support alone is not enough — it calls for sustained, principled, and coordinated engagement. As one interviewee noted, “We don’t want to end up in a situation where we’re forced to sacrifice one principle over another — but in this region, that’s already happening.” While panic is not a strategy, inaction risks deepening the crisis. This report provides clear guidance for donors and implementers to reinforce media ecosystems and protect public interest journalism. If we were to summarize the key recommendations of this report, they would be: – Ensure sustainable core funding: Core support is essential to respond to crises and reduce reliance on politically influenced or commercially driven content. – Invest in long-term tech innovation: Fragmented, short-term digital investments fall short. Donors must coordinate support for scalable, sustainable digital strategies and help reclaim advertising revenue. – Address local media gaps: In many areas, television remains dominant while digital capacity lags. Fund initiatives that reinforce local democratic discourse and reduce polarization. – Strengthen legal and safety protections: Small and exiled media face legal threats and security risks. Long-term investment is needed in legal reform, journalist safety, and operational resilience. – Prioritize local leadership and inclusion: Donor reliance on international actors often sidelines capable local organizations. Local voices must be centered in strategy, funding, and implementation. Finally, it’s worth noting that the regional findings are based on a focused but insightful sample: 13 organizations from Eastern Europe and Central Asia participated in the survey (as part of the global survey), alongside 10 key informant interviews. Despite its limited scope, the report offers a solid foundation for future assessments and strategic agenda-setting in media development." (Conclusions and key recommendations) more

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The State of Media Development: Middle East and North Africa

Samar Sabry

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2025), 25 pp.

"In light of the rapid changes in the political, economic, and technological landscape in the region, there is an urgent need to reassess the goals and priorities of media support programs in the MENA region, focusing on challenges, best practices, and providing effective recommendations. This also ... requires adopting a more coordinated and integrated approach between donors and local partners to ensure that support aligns with the real needs of media institutions and the communities they serve. This is considered the foundation for achieving sustainable impact, rather than relying on short-term or fragmented support that does not keep pace with local realities. Key recommendations 1. Risk assessment and compliance with local context: Develop proactive risk assessment systems that include early warning tools and analysis of the political context, with project designs aligned to the local and political conditions of each country. 2. Protect journalists and enhance their safety: Strengthen physical and digital safety through continuous training, provision of protection tools, and the establishment of technical and advisory support units in cases of targeting. 3. Sustainable and neutral funding: Provide core and long-term funding to ensure financial sustainability, while maintaining funding neutrality, and ensure fair distribution. 4. Adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach: Adopt strategies that consider all components of the media system, supported by thorough needs assessments and long-term monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure impact and sustainability. 5. Empower local partners: Enhance the active role of local actors and transform them from implementers to strategic partners in all stages of the project. 6. Build the capacities of local partners: Develop the skills and knowledge of local partners and researchers specialized in media development, integrate research and learning into projects. 7. Support emerging organizations: Continue funding and supporting small, locally impactful organizations, rather than focusing on large ones only. 8. Simplify administrative procedures: Reduce administrative burdens through standardized proposal templates and allocate a percentage of funding to administrative costs to ensure effective management. 9. Enhance coordination among stakeholders: Appoint national and regional media reform advisors and strengthen links between policymakers and media institutions to ensure synergy." (Conclusions and key recommendations, page 25) more

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The State of Media Development: Anglophone Africa

Robi Koki Ochieng

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2025), 21 pp.

"This study examines the status of media development in Anglophone Africa and specifically assesses adherence to the OECD’s six Principles that guide donor support for relevant and effective media development. The research draws on qualitative and quantitative data collected through surveys and in ... more

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Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance
Deep Insights

Michel Leroy, Anja Wollenberg, Sofie Jannusch (eds.)

Forum Medien und Entwicklung (fome) (2025), 35 pp.

"Critically examining the sectorʼs performance is a routine practice of the Forum Media and Development (fome), a network of 32 German and Swiss organisations, all active in the field of International Media Assistance (IMA). A fome working group identified four areas in which the gap between aspira ... tion and reality of media development co-operation appeared to be greatest: • Dominance of Western values: IMA has been criticised for lacking awareness of its Western bias. The criticism is that Western concepts, while applied in the Global South, are unsuccessful in non-Western contexts. • Local Ownership: Local ownership and participation are guiding principles in IMA; however, funders often dictate topics and objectives. This paternalistic approach has caused local partners to adopt a more constrained and less autonomous stance. • International Coordination: Poor coordination of activities and strategies between IMA organisations active in the same country or context is a notorious source of inefficiency and subsequent problems in IMA. • Measuring Impact: Due to a lack of resources or methodological challenges, the effects and longterm impact of projects often remain unknown; effects are claimed, but claims are not supported by evidence. To broaden our understanding of these issues and find ways to improve practices and strategies within the IMA community, these topics were the subject of discussion at the 18th fome Symposium in Dortmund from Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2024. In advance, a survey was developed and shared across the network to test some common assumptions. The fome Symposium was hosted by the Erich-Brost Institute (EBI) at the University of Dortmund, with nine other fome members responsible for organising various sessions. To kickstart the event, Dani Madrid-Morales from the University of Sheffield presented a broad perspective, comparing the principles, beneficiaries, and approaches of China and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries in a keynote speech. Morales put forward several recommendations for reforming media assistance by DAC countries to contribute to the information sovereignty of the partners. The four articles in this publication introduce the abovementioned subjects and summarise the speakersʼ contributions at the Symposium. The survey results for each topic are tabulated, and the recommendations of all symposium participants on how the weaknesses discussed could be improved in the future are also listed. These are some key take aways from the summary: Participation and locally driven development, as stipulated in the OECD Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment adopted in 2024, appeared to be an overarching requirement for successful media development. Participation is one of the prerequisites for developing ownership and setting priorities that meet the local needs and interests of both the media and the public. This is key to successful communication, as it avoids imposing values and priorities on partners and compromising their independence. International coordination has also proven particularly effective when local partners take the lead from the very beginning of activities, including conceptualisation. Repeated requests were made for more research. Before setting intervention targets, greater investment in media and audience research and impact studies is needed to determine the effects of media-supported involvement. Some of the analyses and recommendations may resemble a déjà-vu of previous events. Whether the sector has sufficient evidence of its impact, for example, has already been questioned at the fome symposia Measuring Change I and II in 2007 and 2009. Seventeen years later, some of the recommendations sound familiar. However, it must be acknowledged that in recent years there has at least been an increased awareness of the sectorʼs weaknesses, both in practice and in terms of academic knowledge. This is reflected, for example, in a greater recognition of the local partnersʼ funding priorities or improved international coordination in crisis situations where a rapid response is required. Under real-world conditions, it will probably be impossible to achieve any desired ideal. This does not mean, however, that ideals should not be pursued and that a critical review of practices is pointless; on the contrary, given an increasingly uncertain funding environment, we should uphold ideals even more resolutely, including the ideal of a controversial, critical and open debate." (Editorial, page 3) more

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Country Summaries: Annual Report 2024. Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists

UNESCO (2025), 38 pp.

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Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in the Levant region
Deep Insights

Brussels: Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (2025), 30 pp.

"This report presents a mapping of 326 media assistance and journalism-support programmes implemented across Sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 and 2025. It provides an overview of how bilateral donors, philanthropic foundations and international and local organisations are supporting the region’s me ... more

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The State of Media Development: Asia-Pacific

Umesh Pokharel

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2025), 23 pp.

"Amid the Asia-Pacific region’s complex political and media landscape — marked by authoritarian regression, shrinking civic space, digital surveillance, funding shortfalls, and gender inequality — this study has explored the current status of media development in the region vis à vis the OECD ... 's six principles for relevant and effective media support [...] This leads to the following key recommendations: – Safeguard independent journalism through ethical support, risk awareness, and mutual accountability: Media programs must integrate local risk assessments and ethical protections to maintain editorial independence. Donors should adapt visibility approaches to protect partners in sensitive settings and foster open, two-way communication for adaptive, shared accountability. – Secure sustainable, inclusive, and crisis-responsive media financing that reflects media’s public value: Unrestricted, long-term funding is critical for media sustainability, particularly in fragile or exiled contexts. Media should be treated as a core democratic institution with expanded support reaching marginalized communities and integrated into broader development sectors. – Design media support with systemic, evidence-based and inclusive approaches that address structural gaps: Support must be grounded in deep ecosystem diagnostics and be inclusive of marginalized voices. Resources should strengthen hyperlocal and digital-first media while building local advocacy and resilience with donor collaboration enabling long-term impact. – Put local expertise and diverse leadership at the center of strategy, funding, and decision-making processes: Local actors should lead program planning and execution, supported by simplified access, institutional investment, and inclusive leadership — especially for women, rural, and displaced journalists. – Build coherent, transparent, and diplomatically backed coordination mechanisms that prioritize local participation: Donors should institutionalize inclusive coordination platforms, fund coordination roles, and streamline compliance. Diplomatic engagement should align with media development to bolster press freedom during crises. – Invest in contextualized research, continuous learning, and regional knowledge exchange to future-proof media systems: Locally led research, updated journalism education, and regional knowledge-sharing must be supported to address emerging issues and build resilience across Asia-Pacific media landscapes. While the findings are drawn from key informant interviews with ten organizations across eight Asia-Pacific countries and a small online survey sample and thus has limitations in terms of representativity, the report does provide a valuable starting point for broader future assessments and strategic planning in media development in the Asia-Pacific region." (Conclusion and key recommendations, page 22) more

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Key priorities and recommendations for investigative media and donors in Ukraine

International Media Support (IMS) (2025), 6 pp.

"Priority 1 - Core support: There is an acute need for institutional support to ensure the continued operation of investigative media in Ukraine. The core support has to cover salaries for journalists, editors, videographers, and communication employees, rent of office fees, utility bills, etc. Pri ... more

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Media Assistance: Mind the Gap! A critical review of common practices and strategies. Presentations

Dortmund: Erich-Brost-Institut; Forum Medien und Entwicklung (fome) (2025), 202 slides

"This is a compilation of the presentations at the fome conference on "Media Assistance: Mind the Gap!" from September 30 – October 1, 2024, in Dortmund." (commbox)

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USA: Trump's foreign aid freeze throws journalism around the world into chaos

Reporters Without Borders, February 6 (2025)

"President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including over $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounces this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, an ... more

The State of Media Development 2026: Funding, local ownership and adaptation in international media development New

Journalism Funds: Building Sustainable Infrastructure for Healthy Information Ecosystems. Why and How the International Fund for Public Interest Media Supports Journalism Funds New

Funding the Future of Local News: Lessons for the UK and beyond from journalism funds around the world Deep Insights

Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance Deep Insights

Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in the Levant region Deep Insights

The State of Media Development 2026: Funding, local ownership and adaptation in international media development
New

Journalism Funds: Building Sustainable Infrastructure for Healthy Information Ecosystems. Why and How the International Fund for Public Interest Media Supports Journalism Funds
New

Funding the Future of Local News: Lessons for the UK and beyond from journalism funds around the world
Deep Insights

Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance
Deep Insights

Mapping of media assistance and journalism support programmes in the Levant region
Deep Insights