Independent media organizations are struggling. Between financial woes, attacks from hostile governments, and other challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the world’s media outlets are experiencing a severe loss of revenue that threatens to upend how they cover important news topics.
As more people get their news from unverified online and social media sources, the loss of revenue is compounding existing problems that plague the free press, particularly those in low-income countries. In 2024 alone, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has chronicled numerous challenges faced by media outlets on the African continent. Government leaders in Guinea, for example, have revoked the operating licenses of six independent broadcasters; similarly, the government of Chad effectively censored independent media outlets by introducing undue obstacles to prevent publications from covering national elections in May.
“Media are facing financial and other pressures that put their existence at risk. For example, as media organizations are squeezed, they have less resources to function and may struggle with constraints like funding for staff salaries, electricity, and equipment,” Rosie Vanek, communications manager at the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), told Global Citizen. “This has consequences for their ability to do the solid work of keeping the public informed and holding power to account.”
Team members at work at the office of Batumelebi on July 12, 2024, Tbilisi, Georgia. The publication's priority is to cover issues related to human rights, vulnerable and marginalized groups, and minorities.
IFPIM seeks to address the challenges faced by public interest media in low- and middle-income countries. By directing funding to struggling outlets, the multilateral fund supports media organizations in their quest to provide factual, accessible, and relevant information to their audiences.
“Media is incredibly important to help societies function,” Patrik Silborn, director of partnerships at IFPIM, told Global Citizen. “How could we address climate change, public health, or other global issues without the media?”
Solving the world’s biggest social and developmental issues starts with an informed public, particularly when the media is able to shine a light on topics that corrupt officials would prefer to stay in the dark. However, just 0.3% of the world’s total official development assistance or ODA (aid from governments to developing nations) goes toward supporting independent media.
When independent media is weakened, democracy itself is threatened. Already, hostile governments arbitrarily target journalists and limit freedom of the press in order to distract the public from corruption allegations and investigative reports, particularly in countries that have fragile political systems.
According to the annual World Press Freedom Index from RSF, the environment for journalism is considered “good” in only eight out of 180 countries and territories. For the 128 regions of the world that are considered at best “problematic” and at worst “very serious,” additional resources for the media can mean the difference between functioning civic space and an immobilized population.
“Funding can help media organizations scale up what they do, and develop new ways of remaining financially viable in the future,” Vanek told Global Citizen. “But they need staff and resources to do that work.”
How IFPIM Supports Media Organizations Under Duress
Understanding the funding gap independent media is facing today, IFPIM engages governments, the private sector, and philanthropic stakeholders through calls for financing media organizations that operate in fragile contexts. This funding is provided as grants for approximately two years, giving media organizations time to develop ways to sustain their operations.
For donors, the International Fund offers a way to pool resources that enable public interest media organizations to survive and thrive. For example, donors may be interested in promoting diverse representation in newsrooms or providing aid to outlets that expose corruption and help ensure elections remain free and fair.
While they may commit large sums to IFPIM’s mission, however, donors hold no influence over how grantees use the money.
“Donors are not part of our board and they have no say in our independent processes that evaluate grantees,” Silborn said. “That’s in order to shield them from the perception that they are moralizing, or that they’re exerting editorial influence over the media in low-income nations.”
While some media development organizations host skills training and capacity-building workshops to grantees, IFPIM’s main priority is to provide core funding, which media organizations can use according to their own priorities. This aspect of the International Fund’s model was developed based on conversations with media outlets that emphasized their need to pay operating costs.
Bush Radio is an IFPIM grantee and South Africa’s oldest community radio station. Founded during the country's struggle against Apartheid, Bush Radio broadcasts in three languages.
South Africa’s oldest community radio station, Bush Radio, applied for an IFPIM grant in 2022 to stay afloat during the country’s economic crisis. Facing ongoing power outages that prevented them from broadcasting during key hours of the day, as well as the declining value of the South African rand, Bush Radio was at risk of defaulting on its rent payments.
Support from IFPIM not only helped the radio station pay the bills and ensure team members’ salaries are delivered on time, but it has also empowered the community radio station to amplify crowdfunding efforts to their loyal audience.
“IFPIM also supports media organizations to innovate. How can they find ways to reach new audiences, and how do they expand access to new revenue streams?” Silborn said. “It’s about whether media outlets have the resources to not only survive, but to thrive in the future.”
In Tunisia, for example, a crackdown on civil society and the media has grown a culture of fear within the increasingly authoritarian country. As a result, the popular collective blogging platform Nawaat began to pursue alternative strategies to digital publishing so it could reach an expanded audience.
Funding from IFPIM supported Nawaat’s launch of an annual festival to showcase its media production work to the public. Additionally, the outlet’s translation efforts have increased significantly, allowing Nawaat to broaden its reach to new international audiences and continue the tradition of accessible public interest journalism.
This type of innovation is exactly what IFPIM hopes to inspire through its grantmaking. Armed with the funds to experiment, media outlets can test out new strategies to combat declining revenue and ensure their longevity.
“You can only put a bandaid on a problem for so long,” Silborn said. “Eventually, you need to come up with solutions to adapt to a changing world.”
Facing this changing media landscape, Colombian outlet Vorágine has used its grant from IFPIM to plan additional revenue streams to support its work.
Vorágine’s audience has come to count on the outlet for its high-quality investigative reporting to expose human rights violations and corruption within the Colombian government. Now the outlet is launching a new education initiative that encourages citizen participation and trains members of the public in journalistic tools.
According to IFPIM’s annual report, the Fund has already mobilized $52 million USD to support public interest media in low- and middle-income countries. As they continue to ramp up their grantmaking efforts in the years to come, the media industry will continue to change.
“With all of these technical advancements, we wonder: what will the future of media look like?” Silborn told Global Citizen. “We don’t have an answer to that right now, but we know that people will always need access to fact-checked, trustful information regardless of the channel.”
Autocratic governments will always attempt to silence independent media, while other existential threats impact how public interest journalism functions in the future. To limit the effect of these outside factors on providing reliable, factual news to the public, Global Citizens everywhere can take action. Encourage world leaders to increase funding for public interest media in developing nations, and defend local journalism at home by following, sharing, and donating to your local media outlets.