Meeting summary

Way forward and next steps

• GFMD will circulate this summary and the updated research spreadsheet via the dedicated Research Group mailing list: [e-mail].

• A new Point of Contact column (Column N) has been added to the spreadsheet. Participants are invited to add their organisational contact details to facilitate collaboration.

• Participants are asked to complete their entries in the spreadsheet, particularly project details and organisational focal points.

• The Research Group mailing list will serve as the main channel to communicate activities, share opportunities, and coordinate collaboration.

• MDI and other organisations will keep the group informed about funding opportunities, such as Horizon Europe calls.

• GFMD will organise biannual research coordination meetings to maintain momentum and ensure alignment across initiatives.

Key themes

• Funding pressures: coping with reduced donor budgets and cuts in US funding.

• Evidence-based advocacy: using research to demonstrate the democratic, security, and economic value of media.

• Media viability and sustainability: business models, exile media, and adaptation to AI.

• Digital media and AI: audience trust, perceptions of AI-generated content, misinformation, and the role of influencers.

• Disinformation and integrity: preventive approaches and regional case studies (Nepal, Indonesia, Uganda).

• Policy influence: feeding research into EU MFF, OECD principles, G20/M20, and Financing for Development.

• Coordination: avoiding duplication, mapping research, and strengthening collaboration channels.

Areas of research and organisational contributions

• Independent researchers Daniel Sped & Susan Abbott (supported by the Gore Institute and Carnegie Endowment) are documenting the impacts of more than 50 independent media programmes and the effects of US funding cuts.

• RNW Media, funded by Dutch Foreign Affairs, is studying youth perceptions of AI-generated content and exploring media viability in the Global South.

• UNESCO – Within the framework of the Media Viability Manifesto, UNESCO is co-leading a research and data task force with several other organisations. As part of this initiative, UNESCO will carry out a literature review and consultations to identify existing resources on the impact of public interest media on economic development.

• International Media Assistance Index (City, University of London and University of East Anglia) is ranking donor states on their commitment to media development and freedom.

• IFPIM is coordinating multiple initiatives: audience trust research in Eastern Europe, a global economists' statement on media investment, and a State of the Media synthesis report for policymakers.

• Michael Moss (formerly OSF) is scoping an initiative on indirect state subsidies for media, building on lessons from South Africa.

• BIRN is tracking the consequences of US funding cuts on Balkan media and monitoring digital rights violations across South-East Europe, with EU support.

• BBC Media Action is evaluating interventions, researching disinformation in Asia and Africa, and piloting work on AI tools and influencers.

• DW Akademie is researching journalism in fragile contexts (Sahel, Central Africa), leading projects on AI newsroom integration and hate speech monitoring, and producing the State of Media Development Report (funded by the European Commission).

• Fondation Hirondelle will implement research on media in fragile contexts, including on Trust in media, and on journalism and trauma, both in CAR; FH will also conduct research on media, digitalization and AI, including on the use of AI for radio mining and the monitoring of hate speech.

• IREX is beginning research on media sustainability and exile media in Latin America.

• TED Network (Susan Angle) has assessed EU–media–member state coordination, calling for more qualitative insights into donor effectiveness.

• SembraMedia continues mapping local media ecosystems across Latin America, Europe, India, and Australia, and is expanding work on exile media.

• Erich Brost Institute (University of Dortmund) is building bridges between research and practice, including doctoral research on media sustainability and the European Journalism Observatory.

• Media Diversity Institute (MDI) has created a Media Diversity Index (piloted in 11 countries plus the UK) and participates in Horizon Europe projects.

• Baraza Media Lab (Kenya) has launched a research unit focusing on media ownership, innovation, sustainability, and trust.

• Syrian Center for Media (SCM) is researching Syria's media landscape post-transition, journalist support mechanisms, and the country's legal media framework.

How to contribute and access research

To add and access information about current and upcoming research in media development and journalism support, please use the mapping journalism research spreadsheet.