Russian Community Media Project

Eurasia Foundation first began supporting independent media in Russia in 2004, through the Russian Independent Print Media Program (RIPMP). By training promising local outlets in best practices, RIPMP helped newspapers in small to midsized cities gain national prominence for the quality of their reporting. Building on this success, EF launched the Community Media project in 2009, which helped selected RIPMP beneficiaries to expand their reach and readership. Implemented in partnership with New Eurasia Foundation in Moscow and the Foundation for Independent Radio Broadcasting, the program provided training and technical support to selected newspapers and radio stations serving small communities.

The Community Media project launched amid the rapid expansion of broadband throughout Russia, and worked with local media outlets to build online platforms and establish a presence on social media to expand their reach and local impact. Some media outlets saw their online audiences more than double because of EF’s support. For example, in 2011, EF’s partners worked with Serov Globus, a small newspaper serving mining communities in the Ural Mountains in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Community Media helped Globus build its first website and establish a strong online presence with a dynamic user engagement strategy. As a result, in 2012 Globus’ website received around 33,000 unique hits per month, a major achievement for a paper serving a community of 150,000.