JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

On the only radio station in the remote Ecuadorian town of Baeza, morning show host Juan Carlos Tito updates listeners on the weather, recent power outages, and repairs to a bridge spanning a nearby river. For the last 24 years, Tito, 53, has been the trusted voice of Radio Selva, broadcasting important community news to this town of 2,000 in the Andean highlands. But now, Tito’s voice is beamed into Baeza from abroad.

In recent years, Germany has become a place of refuge for hundreds of journalists who have had to flee their home countries. Many now continue to work from here and try to improve conditions in their countries of origin. Can they succeed?

The legal basis for combating independent media and media professionals in Russia emerged in the 2010s. In the 2020s, the state significantly expanded its options for repression. Media outlets and individuals were declared foreign agents and the number of cases against media professionals based on extremism paragraphs increased. This report provides an overview of the latest developments.

According to a survey of Russian media professionals in exile, most of them do not live in the EU but in other countries (Georgia, Armenia, Central Asia, Serbia, etc.) despite the high risks due to a lack of legal options and insufficient financial resources. On behalf of RSF, the Russian human rights organization Mass Media Defence Center has prepared an analysis of the situation of independent journalists from Russia in exile.

In the investigative journalist Elena Kostyuchenko’s new book about Russia, resistance is carried out through small, discreet acts.

Thousands of journalists around the world have had to seek exile in other countries in recent years amidst rising political repression, an independent United Nations investigator, Irene Khan, told the global body’s General Assembly in a report last week. Ms Khan’s findings shine a worrying light on the state of the world that all countries, especially democracies, need to reflect on and address.

Trouble with the Truth is the podcast produced by Lana Estemirova in partnership with the Justice for Journalists Foundation. Lana talks to journalists from around the world who face persecution just for doing their job and lets her audience hear voices that usually remain hidden.

The survival of exiled media relies on the survival of media professionals, emphasizing the importance of protecting journalists’ rights to practice their profession securely. A research report by the Exile Hub now sheds light on the critical situation of exiled women journalists from Myanmar.

“Journalism done from exile remains the last reserve of all our freedoms.” Carlos Fernando Chamorro received the Golden Pen of Freedom during the 75th WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress – read his acceptance speech.

She has been actively developing grassroots journalism in a region where ethnic minorities have struggled to have their stories heard in the face of the dominant community’s influence. Now in exile, Nan Paw Gays commitment to advancing the voices of the ethnic minorities in Myanmar continues. In an interview with WAN-IFRA she shares thoughts and experiences of her journey in exile.

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.

How can the media development community support exiled media outlets to survive and continue their work? By asking this question, this report aims to contribute to a shared understanding of the issues exiled media outlets face, but also highlight strategies they are deploying to overcome challenges.

Russian journalist Angelina Davydova has left her home country and is now analyzing the situation in Russia from Berlin. Exiled journalism has become an important factor in the global media landscape, she says.

Held under house arrest in China before fleeing to Europe, the  journalist Su Yutong is still targeted for her coverage of human rights and politics. From smear campaigns and people sharing her address on an underground sex website, to false bomb threats made in her name, the harassment has left a deep mark.

In 2020, Nicaragua contended not just with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also intensified repression from the administration of Daniel Ortega in response to a 2018 social uprising against corruption and human rights abuses. Against this backdrop, a team of four journalists with a hunger for in-depth journalism took steps to hold power to account and tell stories in innovative ways.

Defenses of independent journalists against authoritarian or malign regimes remain weak across the world. Russia and Turkey – united in not just the increasingly authoritarian way they are ruled but also in their “in-betweenness” have been no exception in this regard.

Online abuse stifles freedom of expression, undermines equity and inclusion, and threatens livelihoods. In the United States and around the world, it has become a major occupational hazard, affecting everyone from scientists and academics to election officials and journalists.