by Alan Macleod
Part 2 - Media on the Dole: Cash Flow Crisis Hits Hard
Perhaps the country most affected by this sudden change in policy is Ukraine. While criticizing the decision, Oksana Romanyuk, the Director of Ukraine’s Institute for Mass Information, revealed that almost 90% of the country’s media are bankrolled by USAID, including many that have no other source of funding.
Olga Rudenko, the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent (an outlet MintPress previously revealed receives funds from Washington), also denounced the decision. Last month, she wrote that the USAID freeze is a greater threat to independent Ukrainian journalism than either the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russian invasion. The Kyiv Independent has since asked its readers to support a funding drive to keep pro-U.S. Ukrainian media alive. Other large Ukrainian outlets, such as Hromadske and Bihus.Info, have done the same.
Anti-government Cuban media have been plunged into a similar predicament. Miami-based CubaNet published an editorial asking readers for money. “We are facing an unexpected challenge: the suspension of key funding that sustained part of our work.” they wrote; “If you value our work and believe in keeping the truth alive, we ask for your support.” Last year, CubaNet received $500,000 in USAID funding to engage “on-island young Cubans through objective and uncensored multimedia journalism.” Cynics, however, might visit the website and see little but anti-communist talking points.
Olga Rudenko, the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent (an outlet MintPress previously revealed receives funds from Washington), also denounced the decision. Last month, she wrote that the USAID freeze is a greater threat to independent Ukrainian journalism than either the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russian invasion. The Kyiv Independent has since asked its readers to support a funding drive to keep pro-U.S. Ukrainian media alive. Other large Ukrainian outlets, such as Hromadske and Bihus.Info, have done the same.
Anti-government Cuban media have been plunged into a similar predicament. Miami-based CubaNet published an editorial asking readers for money. “We are facing an unexpected challenge: the suspension of key funding that sustained part of our work.” they wrote; “If you value our work and believe in keeping the truth alive, we ask for your support.” Last year, CubaNet received $500,000 in USAID funding to engage “on-island young Cubans through objective and uncensored multimedia journalism.” Cynics, however, might visit the website and see little but anti-communist talking points.
Madrid-based Diario de Cuba is also in dire straits. Last weekend, the outlet’s director, Pablo Díaz Espí, noted that “aid to independent journalism from the government of the United States has been suspended, which makes our work more difficult” before asking viewers to subscribe. Since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the United States has spent giant amounts of money financing media networks in an attempt to bring the government down. Between 1985 and 2013 alone, Radio and TV Martí received over half a billion dollars in taxpayer money.
Across the world, the funding freeze has put outlets in immediate danger of shutting down. Burmese organizations have already begun firing staff. Around 200 journalists are thought to be directly paid by USAID. “We are struggling to survive,” Wunna Khwar Nyo, chief editor of Western News, told Voice of America. “I cannot imagine [how people will manage] without a salary to pay your rent,” worried Toe Zaw Latt of the Independent Press Council Myanmar.
A recent survey of 20 leading Belarusian media outlets found that a staggering 60% of their budgets come from Washington. Speaking about the USAID funding pause, Natalia Belikova of Press Club Belarus warned, “They are at risk of fading away and gradually disappearing.”
In Iran, U.S.-backed media have already had to fire workers. A BBC Persian report noted that more than 30 Iranian groups held a crisis meeting to discuss how to respond to the aid cuts.
Like in Iran, anti-government Nicaraguan media is highly dependent on subsidies from Washington. U.S.-backed Nicaragua Investiga condemned Trump’s decision as a “serious blow” against a media that “depends largely on the financial and technical support provided by agencies such as USAID.”
A recent survey of 20 leading Belarusian media outlets found that a staggering 60% of their budgets come from Washington. Speaking about the USAID funding pause, Natalia Belikova of Press Club Belarus warned, “They are at risk of fading away and gradually disappearing.”
In Iran, U.S.-backed media have already had to fire workers. A BBC Persian report noted that more than 30 Iranian groups held a crisis meeting to discuss how to respond to the aid cuts.
Like in Iran, anti-government Nicaraguan media is highly dependent on subsidies from Washington. U.S.-backed Nicaragua Investiga condemned Trump’s decision as a “serious blow” against a media that “depends largely on the financial and technical support provided by agencies such as USAID.”
Another country awash in Western NGO cash is Georgia. On January 30, Georgia Today noted that USAID financing has been a “cornerstone” of the country since its independence. It warned that many organizations would immediately shutter their doors for good without the constant flow of money.
Similar reports have emerged from Serbia, Moldova, and across Latin America. Meanwhile, social media users have noticed that many of the most prominent anti-China voices on their respective platforms have gone strangely silent since the shutdown.
Similar reports have emerged from Serbia, Moldova, and across Latin America. Meanwhile, social media users have noticed that many of the most prominent anti-China voices on their respective platforms have gone strangely silent since the shutdown.
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