Flight and Fight: Supporting Exiled Media to Survive and Sustain

"Exiled media outlets provide crucial independent news and information to audiences in repressive environments that might otherwise lack this access."

This report, published by Internews, documents the findings of a study to better understand the issues faced by exiled media outlets. It explores how media outlets operate in various exiled settings, the challenges they experience, the practical strategies they have adopted to navigate these challenges, and the support they need most from the wider media development community. Based on the findings, it provides actionable recommendations on how governments, donors, and others can support these outlets to continue their work.

As explained in the report, "While there is no precise count of the numbers of journalists forced to flee in recent years, media assistance organisations are providing unprecedented levels of support....Some of these journalists continue reporting for and about their home (original) country, joining the growing number of exiled media outlets. This community is fragmented, linguistically diverse, geographically dispersed and operating largely under the radar. Consequently it is more challenging to understand their needs and ensure they receive appropriate support to continue serving their audiences, particularly as their situations constantly evolve."

This research, therefore, sought to answer the following question: How can the media development community support exiled media outlets to survive and continue their work? The report seeks to provide clarity by answering three sub-questions:

1. How do media outlets operate in various exiled settings, and what are the challenges they encounter as they seek to survive and sustain operations?
2. What practical strategies do media outlets adopt to navigate these challenges?
3. What support do they most need from the wider media development community?

The research took place from October 2023 to April 2024. Following a literature review, qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from 25 exiled media outlets that serve communities in diverse situations, including those that are largely neglected by a global spotlight that has tended to focus on crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and crackdowns on press freedom in Russia. Participating media outlets reach audiences in Venezuela, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cuba, Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Myanmar, Hong Kong, China, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Azerbaijan.

The research findings highlight the different realities exiled media outlets face as well as the challenges that exist at a structural level and at an organisational level. It argues that there is a difference between structural conditions and challenges that tend to manifest at the organisational level, which outlets may have more agency to overcome with the right support. Structural challenges include, for example, those related to the registration of media outlets, international banking systems that impact basic operations, funding mechanisms and priorities, and social media platform usage. Outlet-level challenges include: issues related to editorial matters, such as working with sources and the verification of information from afar; physical safety, transnational repression, digital security of operation and staff, staff burnout, and risks to audiences; understanding and meeting audiences' information needs, ensuring information reaches audiences and measuring the impact of content; and revenue diversification amid a dependence on short-term, project-based donor funding.

Examples of some of the challenges faced by journalists or media outlets include:  

• Getting caught up in sanctions and visa restrictions host countries impose on countries of origin;
• Recruiting skilled journalists, either in exile or still in the country of origin, and ensuring those journalists can report safely;
• Hesitation among potential host-country funders of stirring controversy by supporting journalists from "blacklisted" countries;
• Trouble reaching audiences in countries of origin from government-imposed internet shutdowns;
• Continued censorship attempts from origin-country governments, including denial of service (DOS) attacks, social media defamation, ​​and other forms of transnational harassment;
• Problematic content moderation by social media platforms that limits the visibility of media reporting; and
• Finding successful business models when revenue from home-country markets is closed off.

Findings related to how media outlets operate in exile, for example, show that:

• Many outlets operate in a hybrid model, with the most common mode as outlets operating with editor(s) outside of the country and reporters both in and out of the country (76%).
• Revenue of almost all the outlets is philanthropic or nonexistent: 8% operate entirely without revenue; 28% are fully grant funded; and 64% are funded by a combination of grants and business revenue.
• Registration hurdles in host countries prevent many outlets from registering as media organisations, with most registered as non-governmental organisations, or NGOs (56%).

In discussing the challenges faced by media outlets, the report also offers case studies that demonstrate how exiled media outlets have dealt with certain challenges in creative and innovative ways.

 

Based on the research findings and a validation process with media support practitioners, the report offers recommendations for media support practitioners, donors, and governments. Recommendations for donors and media support organisations include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Due diligence: Identify and support only exiled media outlets that demonstrate a clear commitment to providing balanced, impartial information and serving the needs of audiences.
• Preparedness: Remain alert to the signs that pressure is building on independent media in a given country. Support media outlets to consider, and prepare for, ways to sustain their services in the face of the specific challenges they confront. This support includes identifying the most appropriate host country if outlets need to relocate some or all of their operations.
• Legal support: Increase the availability of ongoing legal support that reflects the unique complexity of running a hybrid media outlet spanning multiple countries, including regimes that are volatile or hostile to them. Support outlets to register an appropriate organisational model and remain compliant with tax, employment, and media law in their host country.
• Professional development: Provide ongoing professional and organisational development tailored to the specific needs of each media outlet, including peer support through which exiled outlets can learn from each other.

Recommendations for governments include:

• Safe refuge: Increase the number of specialist, long-term visas for journalists in exile. Develop processes to support journalists leaving their home country, including guidance on appropriate destinations, immigration and asylum processes, and programmes to help them integrate into their host country.
• Registration: Consider developing a distinct organisational registration category for exiled media outlets that enables them to access donor funding, generate commercial and audience revenue, and straddle different regulatory jurisdictions.
• Transnational harassment: Protect exiled journalists by raising awareness of transnational threats at host country government and law enforcement levels, understanding the prevalence of this harassment, identifying offender regimes/groups, and providing enhanced security and refugee status where possible.