JX Fund – European Fund for Journalism in Exile

For vox.com, Caroline Houck wrote about the state of press freedom worldwide in 2023 – and refers to the JX Fund’s study on the situation of Russian media in exile.

What are the main problems exiled media professionals face and what could solutions look like? Laura Dulce Romero interviewed our Managing Director Penelope Winterhager, among others, on these and other questions for Reuters Institute.

When Russia imposed harsh laws on reporters covering its invasion of Ukraine, dozens fled. But physical distance doesn’t always keep exiled journalists safe. For Voice of America Liam Scott met our managing director Penelope Winterhager for a video interview.

Two years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the crackdown on independent media and journalists in Russia has intensified, leading to the collapse of press freedom. Today, the vast majority of Russia’s independent journalists work in exile. This episode of “News in Depth” by SBS News Australia discusses, among others, the JX Fund’s study on the situation of Russian media in exile.

On the occasion of Aleksei A. Navalnys death Anatoly Kurmanaev and Alina Lobzina wrote an article for the New York Times, in which they took a closer look at the Russian opposition in exile. In this context, they also refer to the JX Fund’s study on Russian exiled media.

RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty devotes this article to the situation of Russian journalists in exile. In addition to interviews with Russian exiled journalists, Elizabeth Owen refers quotes the studies of the JX Fund.

Authoritarian campaigns to clamp down on dissent and control the media have driven scores of journalists from many countries into exile, but the repression of a free press does not stop at the border. In their article on transnational repression Michael J. Abramowitz and Jessica White mention the JX Fund as ” instrumental in providing vital resources for journalists to carry on with their work”.

The Annual Journalism Funders Gathering 2023 in New York City discussed how independent journalism can be promoted. The JX Fund also spoke about its support for independent media in exile, which play an important role in closing information gaps, especially in authoritarian countries.

The pressure on media critical of the Kremlin in Russia has increased again since the beginning of the war. Hundreds of journalists have since been forced into exile. Deutschlandfunk (DLF) talks to Russian journalists in exile and representatives of media organizations about current developments in the Russian media landscape. Penelope Winterhager, managing director of the JX Fund, comments on the needs of media in exile.

At the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, the JX Fund discussed with journalists from Russian media in exile their current challenges. On another panel JX Fund was invited to debate the future of the Ukrainian media system. A comprehensible article by Reuters Institute summarizes the learning from the Festival.

Hundreds of Russian journalists have gone into exile to report independently on the war and the Putin regime. The media magazine ZAPP spoke with them about how to investigate from exile and how they deal with death threats.

After the outbreak of the war, the German government promised independent journalists from Russia quick, unbureaucratic admission. In the program “Medien – Cross und Quer,” Penelope Winterhager, managing director of the JX Fund, talked about how the situation has developed since then.

On the BR podcast “BR24 Medien,” Polina Stretter, program director of the JX Fund, spoke about the challenges faced by Russian media in exile and the successes they are nevertheless achieving.

The German government wants to support journalists who have fled Belarus and Russia and is investing large sums of money in the reconstruction of media in exile. At the same time, there are no regulated admission procedures.

With kind permission of SZ Archiv.

Many journalists who have fled Belarus and Russia would like to continue their work in Berlin. But the German bureaucracy puts obstacles in their way: Despite promises to the contrary, the admission procedures remain tough and humanitarian visas are only granted in individual cases.

The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine has made independent reporting in both countries difficult or even impossible. Now, the JX Fund aims to help independent media continue their reporting from exile.

In many places, the free press is threatened by illiberal tendencies, crises and wars. Yet it is needed precisely where it is to be silenced by repression or political persecution. If necessary, media must continue working from exile.

After the Russian war of aggression and the resulting tightening of Russian media laws, the last independent media have also left Russia. The JX Fund helps them to continue their work efficiently and sustainably in exile.