Media Development Investment Fund

In 2025, as global funding started to dry up, media outlets in faced an existential question: can independent survive without donor dependency when operating in exile?

Over the course of a year, MDIF partners Myanmar Now and ’s Luật Khoa are proving that it very much can.

Both operate in exile, driven by deep commitment to their countries and communities.

Over the past two years, with support from MDIF's , they shifted toward audience-first : launching , redesigning products, building models and introducing paid .

By the time the donor funding dropped, Myanmar Now had already built an English-language subscription service and Luật Khoa had forayed into breaking news and daily newsletters, growing audience revenue week by week.

The writing on the wall is clear: exile media can generate revenue, not by compromising independence, but by strengthening their relationship with audiences.

Read more 👇

Who says exile media can’t make money? By Dávid Tvrdoň, MDIF coach In 2025, the global media landscape experienced a major shift in accessible aid and funding. And I’m not just talking about the gutting of USAID, that was merely the culmination of a trend many had warned about for years, while others kept dismissing such a possibilit...

Pakistan Press International (PPI) has been reporting from Pakistan for nearly seven decades. And today, with technological interventions that brought the news agency up to date with the changing times, it feels a classic car with a brand-new engine.

Since joining MDIF's Amplify Asia program, PPI has been going through a rapid transformation: modernizing workflows, scaling output, and rethinking its business model, without compromising the credibility that has kept it trusted through decades of political upheaval.

Under third-generation leader Sana Ali, PPI began experimenting with AI two years ago, starting where speed and structure matter most: stock market news. From using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to building customized solutions with an AI company, the goal was clear: increase efficiency while keeping journalists accountable.

The results are striking: PPI now produces 40,000+ stories per month, a tenfold increase, and has boosted database revenue by around 600%.

But this isn’t “AI replacing journalism.” PPI created a clear SOP from day one, ensuring AI supports the process while humans remain responsible for accuracy, ethics, and quality.

Read the full article about how PPI is leveraging AI for better productivity and efficiency:

Leveraging AI while upholding journalistic ethics By Tosca Santoso, MDIF coach This independent news agency, operating for nearly seven decades in Pakistan, is like a car with a new engine. Pakistan Press International (PPI) is undergoing rapid and fundamental transformation, from its working methods to its business model. The new generation of man...

A free press is essential to create an informed & open society, ultimately helping it move closer to the United Nations' .

As the influence of regimes, and continues to grow over what we read, watch, listen and think, fact-based, accurate will have to work doubly hard to defend the and help us make sense of the quickly changing world.

If you are someone who cares about a , join WAN-IFRA, Daily Maverick and Canadian Journalism Foundation's campaign to celebrate the people who continue to report the truth in times of intense upheaval.

This World News Day (28 September), let's celebrate journalism. Let's celebrate the . Let’s celebrate .



More information👉 https://wan-ifra.org/2024/09/global-news-industry-launches-choose-truth-campaign-ahead-of-world-news-day/