(SUMS) Support for Ukrainian media survival: Internews 2022-2026

Specific objective 1: Ensure the financial survival and mid-term sustainability of national, local and hyperlocal media Activity 1.1 Grants for National Media of Excellence In April 2023, an independent committee of media experts and donors held a closed competition among high ranked national media listed in the White List media, a reputable ranking of media commissioned by the Institute of Mass Information. The support was planned for over three years to help finance key staff positions, sales and membership/subscription departments, native advertising teams, and to invest in specialised content designed to improve their mid-term and longer-term sustainability. Activity 1.2. Support for local and hyperlocal media around Ukraine The project supported 29 local media outlets through stipends, consultations, and mentorship on content production and social media marketing. The support eased recipients burden of paying wages and provided valuable guidance. ABO worked with 10 outlets, while Internews Ukraine (IUA) worked with 19 outlets. By providing stipends and mentoring, encouraging them to develop marketing strategies and policies, the project contributed to growth and sustainability of local media. Specific objective 2: Build local media capacity in gender sensitive reporting and core journalist skills Activity 2.1. Gender-sensitive reporting training and promotion of gender-sensitive editorial policies and practices The project helped regional and local media outlets to integrate gender-sensitive reporting practices. As a result of the mentorship programme, 11 newsrooms either adopted or improved their gender-sensitive editorial policies and practices. By the end of 2023, programme participants awareness of gender issues and level of gender sensitivity (use of correct vocabulary, avoidance of stereotypes) doubled on average. Participants use of feminine nouns in professions and roles increased significantly. At the beginning of the programme, their use was 55%, by the end it increased to 80%. Activity 2.2 Provide training and professional exchanges on Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) methods Within the SUMS project, 25 journalists learned to use OSINT methods and frameworks to monitor local government procurement and reconstruction activities. The project partner Tom14 designed and successfully implemented an extensive educational programme on OSINT of budgets for local journalists. In the course of training implementation, the project team made adjustments as to the number of participants, decreasing the number of participants from 95 to 25, aiming at ensuring high quality of training. Activity 2.3 Provide support for content production projects Tom14 awarded seven stipends for content production to journalists who completed at least three training sessions under the OSINT programme in Activity 2.2. Some of the stories produced thanks to project support contributed to positive changes at the community level, such as increasing transparency and countering corruption. Two of such cases are illustrated below. Specific objective 3: Provide psychosocial support for journalists suffering from trauma and burnout Activity 3.1 Linking SUMS reporters to psychosocial help provided by Ukrainian organisations around the country Three local newsrooms were selected to participate in the Suspilnist Foundations (SF) Resilience Hub, a mental health support programme. The SUMS team encouraged project partners to apply for available mental support programmes by sharing online and in-person resources and educational materials available for Ukrainian journalists. In September 2023, Internews Europe conducted an online survey among SUMS partners over a two-week period to gather insights into stress and burnout levels. The survey results highlighted the urgent need for sustained and organised efforts to tackle stress and burnout among journalists during wartime.

Support for Ukrainian Media Survival (SUMS) is a 36-month 23 MSEK project that will help to ensure the survival of key independent Ukrainian media in the mid-term. The overall objective is: Ukrainian citizens have the reliable information they need to play an active role in the reconstruction and modernisation of their communities. The overall project objective will be achieved through the following specific objectives: Specific objective 1: Ensure the financial survival and mid-term sustainability of national, local and hyperlocal media Specific objective 2: Build local media capacity in gender sensitive reporting and core journalist skills Specific objective 3: Provide psychosocial support for journalists suffering from trauma and burnout