Levant Media Assistance: Mapping of journalism support programmes in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria

Foreword by Roula Mikhael and Ayman Mhanna, GFMD Steering Committee Members

The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) convened the Levant Regional Meeting on Media Support in December at a pivotal moment for journalists and media organisations across the Middle East and North Africa. This report—mapping media development and journalism support in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria from 2020 to 2024—reminds us that, despite determined efforts by many donors and practitioners, the media sector remains highly vulnerable. Rapid shifts in geopolitical priorities, restrictive legal frameworks, and funding uncertainty—most notably the 2025 U.S. executive stop-work order—have exposed the fragility and imbalance within existing funding models.

Main Conclusions and Key Trends 

Using the OECD Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment as a lens, the GFMD mapping highlights several pressing issues.

1. The dominance of governmental funding, particularly from the United States, underscores the sector’s heavy reliance on a narrow range of external donors. When these donors pause or withdraw, countless media outlets face abrupt funding gaps and, in some cases, closure.
2. Though there is growing acknowledgement of the need to “localise” support, most aid continues to flow through European and American intermediaries, with limited direct funding to local organisations.
3. Financial sustainability is often overshadowed by more traditional capacity-building, project-based and topic-focused programs—even though robust business models and revenue diversification have emerged, in every mapping and survey, as the top criteria for long-term viability.

These findings reveal a sector where investigative journalism, research, and advocacy remain critically underfunded, and where donor policies can make or break entire media ecosystems. Worse still, the freeze on U.S. foreign assistance has amplified existing pressures. Independent outlets—especially in conflict-affected contexts—are contending with mounting operational challenges just when citizens need reliable news and information the most.

Evolving Challenges in 2025 

Since the report’s completion, the environment has deteriorated further. The January 20, 2025, U.S. funding stop-work order has pushed media organisations to the brink. Many have had to scale back or close, putting editorial independence and public interest reporting in jeopardy, either because they lost direct sources of funding or because of the severe impact the stop-work order had on intermediary organisations that used to channel funds. This deepening financial insecurity aligns ominously with increasing threats from political or armed actors, growing self-censorship, and severe digital and legal constraints.

In short, when donor priorities shift abruptly, dependent media are left reeling, further weakening civic efforts to promote accountability and democratic governance. The December 18, 2024 meeting echoed these concerns: participants emphasised that meaningful, long-term, and locally led strategies are critical to strengthening independent media.

 Reimagining a Stronger Information Ecosystem 

An old saying reminds us: “Never waste a good crisis.” Now is the time to ask ourselves: If we could redesign this entire information ecosystem so that it would be stronger, how would we do it? A recent Splice newsletter put it succinctly: “The decades-old media development model, while well-intentioned, has sometimes perpetuated dependency and rewarded organisations more skilled at fundraising from grantors than serving their communities”. In the face of today’s crisis, we have a chance to take a fresh look at where to focus limited resources—building fewer but stronger, more sustainable newsrooms that combine editorial excellence with viable business strategies. Such a shift prioritises the integrity of the broader information environment, rather than perpetuating systems that breed dependency.

This is not about abandoning journalism; it is about ensuring that public interest media can stand on firmer financial ground, with the freedom to pursue stories that matter. It means moving beyond short-term project grants to core support mechanisms that foster local leadership, strengthen organisational resilience, and enhance coordination among donors. A more unified, thoughtful approach—one that encourages donor collaboration—can not only reduce duplication but also maximise impact.

A Call to Action 

These findings and discussions culminate in a simple truth: without bold new models of funding and support, independent media and public interest journalism in the Levant and wider MENA region will struggle to survive. We face a critical juncture. As donors, practitioners, and advocates, we must take this opportunity to rethink how we invest in media ecosystems—to prioritise sustainability and local ownership, to coordinate resources more effectively, and to protect at-risk journalism in some of the world’s most challenging contexts.

By responding creatively to the challenges laid bare in this report and aligning with the OECD principles, we can indeed “build back better.” In doing so, we will not only save essential media outlets from collapse, but also strengthen democratic resilience, foster inclusive dialogue, and safeguard the fundamental right to information across the region.

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