In the first wave, the Plan B project covered 12 media outlets, and in the second wave, 38 more publications joined. The total amount of assistance is 275 thousand euros.
In February 2025, Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine” initiated a project to provide urgent financial assistance to regional editorial offices that were facing a crisis due to the suspension of funding from U.S. donors. This was especially important for print media in the frontline regions.
Scandinavian media professionals supported this initiative for several days. These are our partners, the Norwegian media company — Amedia Foundation. It is one of the largest media companies in Norway. It has many local and regional print newspapers with online editions and publishing facilities, as well as a news agency.
“In addition, it is one of the most advanced media companies not only in the Scandinavian countries, but also in Europe in general in terms of audience engagement and working with paywall,” — says Oksana Brovko, CEO of the Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine”. Therefore, this is a very close cooperation for us, because they are like our association within Ukraine. We also actively support and work with more than 120 regional and local media.”
“A number of Ukrainian media resources have suffered from the termination of USAID funding, and the situation has been particularly critical for local and regional media,” — said André Stoylen, CEO of the Amedia Foundation.
“There is an urgent need to support these media outlets so that they do not cease to operate. In response, the Amedia Foundation has allocated 275 thousand euros to the Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine” to help ensure that 50 local and regional media can continue to operate for some time. We consider the АIRPPU a reliable and trustworthy partner in supporting Ukrainian media.”
Given the need to respond quickly, Plan B was not conceived as a long-term, institutional project, but as a strategically important project to support those in need right now.
The first wave of funding totaled 50 thousand euros. It covered 12 media outlets: seven newspapers from Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Chernihiv, and Poltava regions, and five regional online media projects that received support for the production of socially important content.
In total, more than 120 regional media outlets applied for assistance. Thanks to the Norwegian partners, a second, more powerful wave of support was made possible, covering 38 regional publications: 12 newspapers and 26 websites for a period of 5 months. Thus, within the two waves of Plan B, a total of 50 media companies receive 3-5 months of support for their media operations.
“Over the two waves, we will support the publication of more than 100 editions (more than 440,000 copies) and the production of content on socially important topics. We expect more than 1,200 pieces of unique content to be published on regional media websites as part of our support,” — says Oksana Brovko.
A key factor in the selection of media outlets was their importance for the region and the local community. We also took into account the criticality of the situation in the newsroom: whether there is a threat of a complete shutdown, whether the media outlet is working on the front line, whether the newsroom has other sources of funding, etc.
“In some cases, due to the suspension of funding, readers of frontline regions lose the opportunity to receive information from reliable, trusted sources,” —
says Oksana Brovko.
“This is a big risk of an information vacuum, and in the war circumstances, it is a convenient environment for spreading russian narratives, propaganda, fakes and manipulations,” — adds the CEO of the Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine”. — Therefore, it is very important for us to avoid such information voids”.
We also have directed support to media outlets, which are not working on the front line. But we also took into account the fact that these media provide their communities with quality information on socially important topics. They prepare verified materials about internally displaced persons, victims of violence, the military, and children. “Such media continue to accomplish a socially important mission, they have no other sources of funding, so this support is critical for them,” — says Oksana Brovko.
Read more about the media supported under Plan B and what they managed to accomplish thanks to the help of our partners in the near future.
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As a reminder, the Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine” is implementing a number of projects to help regional and local media.
In particular, a three-year program “Stronger Together: Media and Democracy” has been launched with a budget of 70 million Norwegian kroner, which will cover up to 75 regional and local media throughout Ukraine. The three key areas of focus of the program are financial and organizational sustainability (strengthening media through training in sustainable business models and institutional grants); transparency and anti-corruption (supporting investigative journalism through grants and mentoring of newsrooms); and gender equality and inclusivity (leadership development and career coaching through the Women in News program).
The program is organized by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in partnership with the Association “Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine” and the Norwegian Media Association (MBL) with the support of Nansen for Ukraine from Norad.
Also, the IRPPU and its partners have launched an insurance program from the International Journalists’ Insurance Fund.
Read more about the terms and conditions here. You can apply for insurance here.
The initiative is part of the Voices of Ukraine program coordinated by the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). “Voices of Ukraine is implemented within the framework of the Hannah-Arendt-Initiative and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
In addition, the NRVU regularly organizes safety trainings aimed at improving survival skills and first aid in critical situations. The next safety training will be held on April 24-25, 2025 in Lviv.
Photo: Oksana Brovko and Nordic News
