JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

The “She Speaks Sudan” initiative has provided a critical platform for training, mentorship, and collaboration. Among its participants is Amal Mohamed Elhassan Ali, a Sudanese journalist now based in Kenya, who continues to document war crimes, human rights violations, and political struggles. In this interview, she reflects on the resilience required to report on Sudan’s conflict.

Amid funding shortages, AI disruption, and rising threats to press freedom, Latin American journalists are launching innovative projects to rebuild trust and connect with audiences. At the ISOJ 2025 Colloquium, seven media outlets shared how they’re using collaboration and creative storytelling.

At this year’s International Journalism Festival, journalists from around the world gathered to discuss the future of journalism. The Reuters Institute has published key takeaways, offering insights into a range of pressing topics, including journalism in exile, local news, reader revenue, news avoidance, and the impact of AI.

In this article, Maxim Alyukov explores the persistent gap between what journalists deem newsworthy and what audiences actually care about. Drawing on global research and the challenges facing Russian independent media in exile, he argues that understanding public perceptions of relevance is essential to staying connected, credible, and impactful under repression.

This briefing paper “Navigating Instability” outlines an initial framework for responding to the challenges faced by exiled media, based on over 20 years of IMS support. With input from exiled media leaders, IMS’ Exiled Media Working Group has identified five key phases of transition and evolution that media in exile experience.

The founders of the media outlet Divergentes share their struggles in continuing independent journalism from exile. Despite facing immense financial and emotional challenges, they remain committed to exposing the authoritarian regime in Nicaragua.

In this piece, Ksenia Turkuva, an exiled journalist, writes about her journey through Russia’s shrinking media landscape, reflecting on her early career and the harsh realities of censorship. She contrasts her experiences with the eerie parallels she now sees in America, warning of the creeping fear and rhetoric that echoes the tactics of repression she once knew in Russia.

Report for the World and Columbia University (SIPA) have launched The Path to Impact: Insights from Global Majority Newsrooms, an impact report highlighting the global impact of local journalism in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.

This report “2024: Confronting Political Pressure, Disinformation, and the Erosion of Media Independence” identifies serious threats, including the digital surveillance of journalists and its risks to source confidentiality, the transnational repression of journalists—particularly from Russia and Belarus—and the trend of media capture by governments in some countries.

The Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ) released a report examining the key trends and developments in the media landscape of 12 post-Soviet states (excluding the Baltic States) over the past eight years. The report, compiled in collaboration with local partners, highlights significant changes and challenges faced by the media in these countries since 2017.

After the war in Ukraine began, several journalists from Novaya Gazeta left the country and started the media outlet in exile, Novaya Gazeta Europe. Ekaterina Glikman, deputy editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, talks about the challenges of working as a journalist in exile in Switzerland, and how the new media outlet covers events in Ukraine and Russia.

Ten years ago, Borhan Akid had to flee from Syria—head over heels, away from his family, away from Damascus. He traveled through Greece to Germany, where he ended up in Cologne, learned German, and became a journalist at WDR. Now—after the fall of dictator Assad—he feels drawn back. How does it feel to be in his old homeland?

After the fall of the Assad regime, three Syrian journalists in exile speak with iMEdD about the challenges and opportunities of independent journalism in Syria, navigating an unstable and uncharted media landscape. They interview Lina Chawaf, CEO of Radio Rozana; Mohammed Bassiki, exiled journalist and SIRAJ co-founder; and Zaina Erhaim, who trains women journalists in the Middle East.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its 2024 Assistance Report, revealing a growing trend of forced exile among journalists worldwide. In 2024, the organization allocated 70% of its emergency funds to relocating over 700 persecuted journalists and provided financial aid to 42 media outlets facing crises.

Kyaw Min Swe, the former editor-in-chief of weekly newspaper Aasan (The Voice) and executive director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, has been a journalist for more than 25 years. He had been detained before, but this time was different. Index traveled to Germany to meet exiled newspaper editor Kyaw, who faced torture and imprisonment at the hands of the military junta.

Journalists Wendy Quintero Chávez and Lucía Pineda Ubau shed light on the harsh realities of systemic torture, rigged elections, and the fight for press freedom in Nicaragua. Since 2018, over 350 lives have been lost, 56 media outlets banned, and 900+ exiled. Despite facing threats and violence, they continue to fight for truth and the right to report freely, even from exile.

China, Israel, and Myanmar emerged as the world’s three worst offenders in another record-setting year for journalists jailed because of their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2024 prison census has found. Belarus and Russia rounded out the top five, with CPJ documenting its second-highest number of journalists behind bars.

Chinese dissident Lu Yuyu’s perilous escape from China reveals the high stakes of documenting unrest under an authoritarian regime. Once jailed for exposing protests, Lu now rebuilds his life in Canada while navigating China’s growing digital censorship.