Media development cutoffs threaten democracies worldwide
International media outlets and media development projects, like many of the initiatives I’ve been engaged in for years, have been severely impacted by the cutoff of U.S. foreign aid funding and the decimation of USAID. 

These cutoffs are ill-conceived and deeply damaging to democracy around the world as well at America's national interest.

The foreign aid freeze includes $268 million that was targeted to support independent media and a free flow of information around the world. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) “denounces this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and journalists doing vital work into chaotic uncertainty.” RSF says, “The affected organizations include large international NGOs that support independent media like the International Fund for Public Interest Media and smaller, individual media outlets serving audiences living under repressive conditions in countries like Iran and Russia.” RSF reports that according to a USAID fact sheet which has since been taken offline, in 2023, “the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news outlets, and supported 279 media-sector civil society organizations dedicated to strengthening independent media.” 

Further, “The ripple effects of the aid freeze … also threaten to cripple news organizations that indirectly rely on USAID and State Department support via groups such as the National Endowment for Democracy. The non-governmental organization is funded by the U.S. government and provided $51 million in support to media outlets in 2022, according to a press release.” (ICJI)

In addition, the funding stoppage will also “set back the global movement for media freedom by years,” according to an  insightful article by Nicholas Benequista.

The freeze also torpedoed important programs to combat disinformation in Eastern Europe, including Moldova, which is ground zero for corrosive Russian propaganda. I was incensed to hear the president list “32 million for a left wing propaganda operation in Moldova” as an example of wasteful spending during his speech to congress in March. This “propaganda operation” was in fact not propaganda, but well-calibrated programming to counter Russian disinformation and give Moldova a chance for a prosperous, democratic future. To callously criticize this worthwhile endeavor empowers the propagandists in Moscow and legitimizes their dark agenda. (You can read about these laudable anti-disinformation efforts in the April 2024 Peace Journalist magazine.)

Since 2007, many of my endeavors teaching peace journalism, media literacy, and countering  disinformation have been funded directly or indirectly through the U.S. government, including the Pakistan radio project detailed in this magazine (pg. 4); a year-long project that succeeded in preventing media-induced election violence in Uganda; a cross-border reporting project that united Indian and Pakistani journalists to use storytelling to build bridges instead of fuel hatred; and a peace journalism project that taught reporters in the Sahel region how to counter violent extremism—hardly “left wing propaganda.” And this doesn’t even count the work I’ve done as a three-time Fulbright Scholar, including my projects last year in Moldova (for content creators and for fifth graders) that taught youth to recognize and counter disinformation.

I’m proud of all of these projects and their demonstrably positive impacts, and believe each to be a smart, efficient use of taxpayer funds. All of my projects put together, and the $268 million of media aid currently frozen, don’t come close to adding up the cost of just one F-22 fighter jet--$350 million. (Aerotime)

This media development work, and the projects done by USAID and its sister organizations like the U.S. Institute of Peace and the East-West Center, where I am a journalism program coordinator, make the U.S more secure by making the world a more peaceful place—all at a tiny fraction of the cost of military hardware or interventions.

Given our perilous world, we should be doubling down on projects that fund free press and combating disinformation--not doing the opposite.

Indian, Pakistani reporters resume cross border conversations
Among the dozens of media and peace journalism projects I’ve done, the cross border journalism initiative launched by the East-West Center stands out for the quality and audacity of its participants—Indians and Pakistanis who transcend boundaries and unite for the cause of good journalism.

In this project, Pakistani and Indian journalists learn together (production, peace journalism, economic, health, and environmental reporting), and then break up into teams of one Indian and one Pakistani to jointly report issues of importance.

I had a chance to meet some of these journalists last night on Zoom for a concept we call, Cross Border Conversations. Our discussion began with journalists Ravinder Singh and Shiraz Hasnat, who discussed their jointly produced story about a radio station that reaches across the border. Both said there were obstacles in producing and publishing the stories, and especially getting Indian publications to use the Pakistani reporter’s byline, and vice-versa. Despite these challenges, the feedback from readers were very positive since the story took such a unique angle.  

Then, Husnain Raza from the media NGO Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI) gave a short presentation about five recent workshops for radio journalists (called Frequency +) held in Sindh and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan. I was fortunate enough to meet and train these 108 journalists in January. The workshops included content production, AI, writing multimedia copy, and scriptwriting for podcasts. (See my blogs describing my wonderful experiences in Pakistan).

Finally, we closed with a discussion about the future of cross border programming. One possible cross border project would be with and through GNMI, and involve Pakistani and U.S. journalists. However, that’s on hold due to the pause of U.S. government funding. Another possible cross border project is in the works with a different media NGO. This is in the planning stages, but might tentatively focus on teaming up newsrooms in India with their Pakistani counterparts.

As always, it was a pleasure seeing and chatting with my South Asian colleagues. I look forward to our next cross border conversation in May.

 

Aid, refugee cutoff reporting reflects peace journalism principles
As USAID is dismantled, government workers are laid off, and the refugee resettlement program is halted, there is at least one small ray of sunshine—ubiquitous news media reporting about these events that reflects the best principles of peace journalism.

As a peace journalist, the focus should naturally be on the humanitarian angle of the story, on storytelling that gives a voice to the marginalized and victimized, and on discussions about mitigating the fallout of these government decisions moving forward. There is an abundance of journalism that is doing just that. 

The results of a small Google news search study done on Feb. 12 for stories filed during the last month are interesting. The search looked for “USAID” and then drilled down by adding different terms in quote marks.  The good news--there is an abundance of news about the foreign agencies that depend on USAID funding. A search for “crisis foreign aid organizations” showed 198,000 stories, while there were 344,430 hits combined for “overseas agencies impacted,” “impact local provider,” and “local agencies.” For example, "USAID Kenya partner has no funds to carry out PEPFAR waiver" on Devex discusses how a program to fight AIDS may have to stop, while “Nonprofits, NGOs scramble to provide global aid amid USAID uncertainty” by ABC News discusses the battle to keep aid agencies afloat. In the article, a humanitarian aid organization leader “described conversation with lawmakers who were, they said, in disbelief to hear that organizations who are trying to continue lifesaving work delivering food and water were still locked out the federal payment system and unable to access cash. ‘Surely, there is cash?' I had to say, 'No, no, there is no cash.’ the humanitarian aid leader told ABC News. ‘We are having to first get through that disbelief that this would actually be happening in this way.’”

Similarly, there have been a number of published stories that highlight the humanitarian impacts of the foreign aid cutoff, especially in those domains most impacted. The Google search study showed, for example, 333,000 stories on “USAID” and “health programs” and 114,000 stories on “USAID” and “AIDS.” There are many exemplary peace journalism-style stories reporting the human toll angle of the story, for example, several Nicolas Kristof pieces in the New York Times, including “The USAID chaos already has dire effects;” “Fear, pain and Hunger: The dire impact of U.S. funding cuts” in the Washington Post; and “USAID freeze risks 'deadly consequences' as work halts in Gaza, agencies warn” on NBC News.

There has also been a laudable spotlight on the victims of the stoppage in refugee resettlement to the U.S. The Google news search showed 179,000 such stories using the search “refugee resettlement.”  These include excellent stories like “‘Life is so dark’: Trump cancels flights to KC for 108 refugees fleeing war, persecution” in the Kansas City Star; and “A Utah agency rented apartments, bought food for refugee families. Now they’re on hold” in the Deseret News.

Peace journalists need to remain vigilant when reporting the aid and refugee cutoffs, and need to keep their focus on humanitarian issues more generally as they report about the myriad impacts of the drive to slash government programs and workers.

Call for Articles: The Peace Journalist magazine
The Peace Journalist, a semi-annual magazine produced by the Center for Global Peace Journalism/Steven Youngblood, is seeking submissions for its April edition. Submissions should be 600-1600 words, and

address peace journalism/peace media research and projects. Please also submit photos, if possible. We do not run articles about general peace projects or processes unless they have a strong media component or angle.

The previous edition of The Peace Journalist, our 25th published magazine, can be found at
https://www.scribd.com/document/774752030/The-Peace-Journalist-mag-Oct-2024

The deadline for submissions is March 5. The magazine usually fills up quickly, so the sooner you can get your pieces in, the better. Please submit to steven.youngblood@fulbrightmail.org .

Thank you in advance for your submissions.

Best wishes,

Steven L. Youngblood
Editor, The Peace Journalist
Journalism Program Coordinator, East-West Center

Editing podcast scripts at Quetta radio seminar

Balochistan region overcomes reputation
(QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN PROVINCE, PAKISTAN)—I always love coming to so-called “dangerous” places because my visits always confirm the fact that they really aren’t as bad as they’re portrayed to be. Lebanon and Ethiopia immediately come to mind.

When it comes to dangerous reputations, not many places exceed this region and city, situated only 120 miles from the Afghan border.

Google “Quetta Balochistan news” and you’ll get stories about an attack on a police academy, an attack on a church, the educational crisis, and so on. Google “Quetta Balochistan terrorism” and you’ll get more stories than Google can count.

Despite this, my impressions of this place are entirely positive. Yes, violence does occur here, but Balochistan is much more than just terrorist attacks.

I’m here working with radio journalists on script writing and podcasting on a project organized by the Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation, the U.S. Consulate-Karachi, and the East-West Center, which is lending my services as a trainer to the project. 

During this seminar, I led a discussion about peace journalism. One of PJ’s principles is to offer counternarratives to de bunk media generated and perpetuated stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions. This principle is obviously applicable to Balochistan, since 99% of the news about the region is negative, and spotlights only violence. Peace journalism practitioners would look to tell counternarrative stories about Balochistan—stories about business, education, commerce, athletes, etc., that give a more complete view of the people and region.

Balochistan journalists learn about podcasting

We also discussed the obstacles facing journalists here, including slow and unreliable internet. For journalists looking both to research and to disseminate stories, the lack of good internet complicates their job, which is complex enough to begin with given the security issues journalists face in the region.

One of the 23 participating journalists also asked about how to best report in a conflict zone. Taking care of their own security is most important, of course. After that, I said that sometimes the best we can do is to not make a bad situation worse by sensationalizing the violence, prematurely blaming this or that group for an attack, or creating even more hatred against the perpetrators or their ethnic group.

I admire these journalists for their resilience. Working here is difficult, yet they seem committed to upholding the best principles of the profession.

I look forward to my next visit to Quetta, and hope to have more time to explore the scenic beauty of this misunderstood place.