Since 1993, Eurasia Foundation has invested more than $17 million in the growth of independent media throughout the region. EF has supported the development of print and electronic media in almost every country of the region and currently has media projects operating in six of the twelve countries. As far back as 1996, EF launched the Media Viability Fund, an ambitious initiative that provided low-interest loans for equipment and expert technical assistance to promote financially independent news media in Russia and Ukraine.
Today in Russia, the New Eurasia Foundation (FNE) operates a successor program to the Media Viability Fund that works intensively with a select group of independent newspapers to improve their editorial, administrative and financial capabilities. One of these is a new publication, Moy Gorod, in the Siberian province of Khanty-Mansiysk. This paper was founded by journalists previously on staff at another local paper, who walked out in the fall of 2006 after the owner removed a front-page story about the embezzlement of public funds. Determined to publish the story, the Khanty-Mansiysk journalists set up Moy Gorod. FNE has provided intensive consultation to the fledgling newspaper to help it develop from being written on home computers to obtaining official registration. Other FNE partner newspapers offered crucial help in the form of donated computers and tape recorders and underwriting the newspaper’s initial printing costs. Moy Gorod now has a circulation of 2,500. By deploying individual consultants like the ones who helped Moy Gorod and by arranging intensive training opportunities, FNE helped its clients’ advertising revenues grow by an average of 59 percent in 2006. Circulation figures also increased and the size of these client publications increased by an average of 10 pages.
In 2006, Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) launched a two-year program to strengthen the operational capacities and sustainability of regional print media outlets in Armenia. The Foundation provided support to 28 regional print media outlets by improving journalists’ and designers’ professional skills, enhancing their financial sustainability and linking them with newspaper distribution networks. Through a series of trainings, 89 participants were trained in management, journalism and editing, design and layout, photojournalism and marketing and sales. A comparison of participating papers before and after the program reveals significant impact: on average, the participating newspapers have increased their circulation by approximately 30 percent; newspaper revenues from sales and advertising increased an average of 30 percent; distribution expanded to approximately 60 new communities served by participating newspapers; and five newspapers established websites, with approximately 1,500 users per month.
Eurasia Foundation also partners with the International Center for Journalists to develop the Persian language version of IJNet, a web portal on training opportunities for journalists around the world. The website also provides a forum for multilingual discussions on various topics affecting journalists. In 2008, the program began providing on-line training on social reporting and website development. IJNet is available in five languages, and just recently launched an updated version of its site allowing for more social networking among journalists around the world.
