JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

What has happened to the Belarusian media and journalists since the day of the presidential elections — from 9 August 2020 until today — is an unprecedented case of the eradication of independent journalism in a single country, in the centre of Europe, in the 21st century.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has launched a new online training course for exiled journalists, in partnership with the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). The free e-learning course, which covers areas like UK media law, public affairs, writing styles and an introduction to the UK media industry, will help journalists forced to relocate to continue reporting.

In this article Emma Löfgren, editor at The Local and contributor at The Fix, rounds up some of the insights she learned when interviewing five leading experts for audience building.

Finding funding for your journalism organization can be a daunting responsibility — especially if your organization does not have someone experienced in fundraising. The process is similar to investigative journalism: first, you must research funding sources, then prepare your story, and write a compelling narrative that makes the reader understand the importance of your work — and the need to fund it.

Newsletters are an effective way to establish a direct contact with your audience, unmitigated by the whims of social media algorithms. For individual journalists, newsletters can be a profitable option to share their work with their readers. But how?

From Afghanistan and Russia, to Venezuela, Eritrea and beyond, journalists globally have fled – and continue to flee – threats to their lives and livelihoods under authoritarian regimes. Entire newsrooms in these contexts, too, have shuttered operations to avoid imminent danger to their employees and financial ruin.

One of the Belarusian media outlets that has survived in exile is Dev.by, a publisher dedicated to the IT industry in Belarus and the world, producing news, interviews, reports, and analytics. The organisation operates in spite of constant threats and lack of funding. Dev.by’s CEO and founder Artiom Kontsevoi shared with The Fix how they manage to operate in such unstable conditions.

Small newsrooms need to focus on the importance of data use more than ever. But they often face numerous hurdles to this kind of work, including a lack of funding, limited human resources, and outdated thinking about what constitutes traditional journalism.

Journalism has moved online, exposing journalists to targeted attacks and surveillance. This guide helps building digital armor, protecting data, sources, and critical work in an evolving digital landscape.

Journalists today are often primary targets of online harassment, trolling, doxxing, hacking and spyware. In addition to abuse from anonymous users online, they are also subject to surveillance, intimidation and persecution by powerful entities like large corporations, legal and local authorities, or the state machinery at large.

Tackling Disinformation: A Learning Guide offers insights for evaluating media development activities and rethinking approaches to disinformation, alongside practical solutions and expert advice, with a focus on the Global South and Eastern Europe.

Reporters Without Borders has ranked Belarus as the worst country for press freedom in Europe. Maria Savushkina, a Belarusian journalist currently living in Berlin, reaches tens of thousands of people back home with her political satire.

In partnership with the Network of Exiled Media Outlets (NEMO) the International Journalists‘ Network compiled an Exiled Media Toolkit, that brings resources to journalists and outlets established or preparing to be in exile, as they report on communities and events in their home countries.

For journalists living in exile, emotional stress and trauma cannot be discounted. Leaving one’s home is never easy, and the mental toll is more excruciating when forced to flee. Here are three levels of support to consider when looking after your mental health as a journalist in exile.

Tracking impacts is especially critical for exiled media outlets due to the distance they operate from their target audiences and home countries. While there are several analytics tools to measure different aspects of your work, it can often be overwhelming to decide which tools to use. Here’s how to consider what tools to use for measuring impact for exiled journalists.

The Editor Safety Hub is a dedicated training platform for news editors and managers, providing them with a free and efficient way to improve their safety skills and practice through self-paced courses, practical tools and resources. It is created by the ACOS Alliance and WAN-IFRA in partnership with leading safety trainers, editors and journalists.

The International Press Institute has urged Poland’s Foreign Ministry to reconsider its decision to cut the financing of Belsat, a flagship Belarusian-language broadcaster operating within Poland’s public television service (TVP), amid growing concern about the survival of exiled Belarusian media. With the budget slashed, Belsat is not alone in being in a precarious state.