Exiled media will leave grant dependency behind

In 2026, exiled media outlets will overhaul their business models, leaving behind grant dependency and moving toward diversified schemes that include products and services that their audiences — especially readers in the diaspora — are willing to pay for.

This year began with a shock: the funding freeze of U.S. international cooperation and the dismantling of USAID. The consequences of this freeze are still unfolding. Although parts of this funding were restored, and the resolution that reopened the federal government in November technically maintains the possibility of allocating similar budget levels to previous years, the reality is that President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to shrink this budget line as much as possible. Since January 2025, very few grant calls have been opened in Washington, D.C.

And the bad news does not come solely from the United States. In the European Union, an intense lobbying effort is underway to include an innovative media policy in the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2035. Yet several member states are sharply reducing their national contributions to journalism carried out by organizations from the Global South.

In 2025, the European cuts hit particularly hard in the Netherlands and Sweden, historically two of the most consistent supporters of journalism as a pillar of democracy and human rights. If the push by many journalism colleagues to secure dedicated media funds within the MFF succeeds, it will be an important victory — but one that will mostly benefit EU member states, not the wider ecosystem.

Philanthropic organizations, private companies, and international cooperation agencies that for years allocated significant resources to journalism are also shutting down programs or letting multi-year contracts expire without any possibility of renewal. Many of the agreements that are still in place end in 2026 and were signed with already existing or pre-committed funds, before the current wave of cuts.

In my conversations with colleagues from exiled media and other projects reliant on international cooperation, a shared concern is evident: we must wake up from the paralysis and complacency produced by the continual (though never sufficient) availability of funding. Diversification has been a talking point for years, but until 2025, few truly believed the money could vanish almost overnight.

Well, that day has come. Options are limited, and it is time to treat remaining funds as a transitional runway. Next year will be the last chance to pivot toward diversified models while there is still money in the bank.

In 2026, we will therefore see a rise in historically grant-dependent outlets exploring new revenue streams. The idea that survival requires monetizing “products” — not just content, even if content remains our core product — will continue to gain ground. We will see more outputs derived from the expertise and technical capabilities of media teams: VPNs and tech tools, subscriptions to data platforms, festivals and events, editorial products, and specialized analysis.

The sustainability of exiled media’s coverage of their countries of origin will increasingly depend on their audiences in the countries where they have resettled — audiences with greater economic capacity and facing far less political risk for supporting persecuted media. For that reason, we will see more experimentation with advertising and sponsorships from businesses targeting migrant communities, as well as donations, subscriptions, and paid memberships from the diaspora. These mechanisms will operate as a kind of “information remittances,” ensuring that from a relatively safe refuge, the stories of countries left behind continue to be told.

Finally, new editorial ventures will emerge as exiled media outlets expand their coverage and focus on issues in their immediate surroundings. The ecosystem of local and civic media in the Global North will see the birth of outlets created by and for migrants, adopting and implementing the sustainability models that are already established and getting additional support in these environments.