US aid suspension affecting Ternopil oblast media

Illustration by the IMI

The suspension of US program funding only affected some media outlets in Ternopil oblast, because the region has largely been a non-priority in terms of international support since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. However, the units that relied on it are now looking for ways to reshape all their work or counting to implement some projects with the help of European grants, reports Iryna Nebesna, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Ternopil oblast.

Ternopil Press Club

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the work of the civil society organization Ternopil Press Club has been 85% dependent on the support of international projects, says Angela Kardynal, the NGO's board chair.

“We have one project that has US funding, it covers several issues: media literacy / fact-checking, a regional school of modern journalism and cooperation with local news outlets from 15 regions. Today, everything is frozen, because we are not allowed to carry out operations within the framework of this project. It is a great pity, not least because this was the 12th round of the media school and we had only just started classes,” says Angela Kardynal.

The regional journalism school saw attendance of 25 participants yearly. The work continued even in the first year of the full-scale invasion: the classes were resumed as soon as the situation allowed.

According to the head of the Press Club, for them the situation is critical, because they need to figure out how to persevere without losing neither their team nor project partners, which include both organizations and media outlets they previously collaborated with.

“We planned to work with 15 media outlets from 13 regions. Some classes saw attendance from up to 30 media outlets based throughout the country. For them, this is also a valuable source of support: sometimes technical, sometimes financial. It is crucial now. We have been through so much with these outlets since the reform, they have learned to work efficiently, maintain their own digital platforms, and have had some success with their small projects in local communities,” says Angela Kardynal.

She emphasizes that such support is especially important for the hyperlocal media outlets with which the Ternopil Press Club cooperates, because they can not rely on advertisers for income and donations from readers are out of the question.

“Of course, everything works if the process is already launched and donations are part of the culture. But we do not have such culture right now. These wartime years are very difficult as it is, and now this, too. We had a plan to move and evolve, to provide training and support for everyone. But in order to preserve hyperlocal media that are not owned by the government or businesses, that adhere to standards, learn new things, and nurture their teams, a lot of international support is needed,” Kardynal stresses.

TV-4

The television company TV-4 was also left without US funding. The TV channel's CEO Yulia Vinokur did not go into details, but remains optimistic, because to them grants are additional opportunities and not a core budget item.

Vinokur says that their team has experience participating in EU grant projects, so they will apply for new ones and look for other sources of funding.

“We will continue to work with local businesses as usual to support socially important projects and programs for the region. We will continue to produce interesting, competitive video content, including advertising. We need to use all opportunities, because now, in wartime, everyone has it difficult. But the team of our television company is trying very hard and will do everything possible so that viewers can receive prompt, true, new, and useful information same as over the 33 years of our work. What matters is victory and peace, and as for everything else – we will survive and make it through!” – Yulia Vinokur comments for the IMI.

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

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.

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