Six Donetsk media outlets announce 48 hour silence following loss of funding

Six independent media outlets in Donetsk oblast announced a silence campaign on February 11 and 12, stopping content publication to show what the information space would look like without independent media.

The media united to show what role they play in the shaping of socially valuable information and what threats lack of funding poses, writes the initiative Maye Sens.

Screenshot from sense.ngo by the IMI

"We temporarily stop releasing content to show what the information space would look like without independent media. We are not gone forever, but this symbolic gesture is intended to emphasize: in this difficult time, without the support from society, businesses and partners, independent media may cease to exist," the announcement reads.

The campaign was joined by:

• Kramatorsk Post
• Slovyanski Vidomosti
  
• PRO100 MEDIA (Kramatorsk)
  
• Vilne Radio
  
• ObshcheZhytie
• 6262.com.ua (Slovyansk city website)
  

In a comment to an Institute of Mass Information representative, Maye Sens CEO Valeriy Harmash explained that they got the idea for the protest after donor organizations told them they were cutting the funding for independent media.

“Some of our donors actually suggested that we close operations. We realized that in this situation we should really show what will happen if independent media cease to exist even for two days,” Harmash noted.

He says that Ukrainian independent media are in a very difficult situation right now. The financial model they operate on often relies on donor grants, since the advertising market in the regions has been destroyed by the war.

“Working on advertising alone is difficult throughout Ukraine. But who will buy advertising in the Donetsk or Luhansk media? Even in Slovyansk we are trying to sell advertising, but it takes enormous efforts,” Harmash explains.

He emphasized that local media in frontline cities play an important role, as they report on the developments directly from the battlefield.

“Slovyansk is located 24 km away from the front, Kramatorsk is 14 km away. Imagine that no verified information comes from these cities. This situation could repeat throughout the country if independent media outlets are unable to work,” he says.

Despite the difficult situation, businesses in frontline cities are trying to support the media by buying advertising. Harmash believes that this cooperation is beneficial to everyone:

“I am grateful to businesses that, even in such conditions, work and promote themselves through advertising. This helps them, independent media outlets, and the audience, which continues to receive verified information,” Harmash stresses.

As of 11:00 on the first day of the campaign, the organization had already received the first responses: comments of support on social media and two paid monthly subscriptions to support the project.

The silence campaign will last until February 13; then the independent media outlets that joined it will resume publishing news.

Previously

US President Donald Trump has suspended funding for all projects by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for 90 days to review them and determine whether they align with his political goals. In Ukraine, USAID was supporting hundreds of various media projects.

Earlier, the media of Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Luhansk, and Volyn oblasts explained what danger the suspension of US grants poses to them.

On January 28, the Media Movement urged citizens and businesses to support independent journalism.