Building Power in the Eye of Crisis: Rethinking Media Development Strategy at LMF

At the Lviv Media Forum 2025, a thought-provoking panel titled “Building Power in the Eye of Crisis: Reinventing Approach to Media Development” brought together prominent media experts to discuss the formidable challenges and crucial opportunities facing Ukraine’s media sector amid war and a shifting funding landscape.

Organized in partnership with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the discussion featured Rebecca Harms, Vice Chair of ECPMF; Rita Ruduša, founder of the Baltic Center for Media Excellence; and Ola Myrovych, Head of the Lviv Media Forum, with Goar Khodjayan, IMS Programme Manager for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, moderating.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to their speeches at the Lviv Media Forum, one of the largest media conferences in Central and Eastern Europe.

The session opened on a sobering note. Ola Myrovych presented recent findings from a UNESCO and Japanese government-supported study, revealing the staggering financial toll the war has inflicted on Ukrainian media. According to the research, nearly $390 million will be needed for the sector’s recovery – a sum currently out of reach due to the freeze of critical U.S. funding.

“With the freeze of USAID funding, there is currently no realistic hope that these funds will be made available,” Myrovych explained, emphasizing the urgency of revisiting existing support models.

This stark reality prompted a deeper reflection on how Ukrainian media must evolve. Rebecca Harms, who has been engaged with Ukraine’s media reform efforts since the Orange Revolution, underscored the indispensable role of courageous journalism in shaping democratic progress.

“Without a single channel willing to report the truth on the ground, the Revolution of Dignity might have unfolded differently. The presence of courageous media outlets shaped the course of history,” she said. Harms also highlighted that the long-standing European political commitment to de-oligarchizing media ownership and empowering public broadcasters remains essential. 

Meanwhile, Rita Ruduša offered insights from her decade-long experience working with media development across Europe. She traced the sector’s evolution from broad, generic training programs toward individualized support tailored to the distinct needs of newsrooms – an approach, she argues, must be intensified in the face of current funding cuts. 

Central to the panel’s discourse was the urgent need for strategic prioritization. Harms called for donors to abandon fragmented, short-term grants that impose rigid editorial mandates and instead focus on core, flexible funding that enables media outlets to build sustainable operations.

“Donor coordination isn’t about boasting about what each does. It’s about specializing, for example, one donor focusing on AI, another on business development. Only with this approach can we maximize scarce resources,” Harms said.

The role of public broadcasters and regional media networks emerged as a critical theme. Ruduša emphasized that public broadcasters act as vital safety nets, ensuring broad coverage where local independent outlets struggle to survive. “A public broadcaster fills the gaps where local independent media cannot survive, guaranteeing public interest content across the territory,” she explained.

Audience questions expanded the discussion to diaspora engagement and frontline reporting. Panelists noted the increasing significance of Ukrainian diaspora communities as both consumers of Ukrainian content and potential funding sources. “Diaspora audiences actively seek Ukrainian content and are becoming an important funding source, as evidenced by outlets like Kyiv Independent leveraging this connection,” a panelist noted.

Frontline media operating amid conflict zones face dire challenges but remain essential to informing communities under threat. “Frontline outlets need cooperation and resource-sharing to maintain continuous, quality coverage despite limited capacity and difficult circumstances,” the panel agreed.

As the session drew to a close, the consensus was clear: Ukraine’s media sector must embrace strategic foresight and collective responsibility to survive and thrive. “The time is now – strategic thinking is essential,” Harms concluded. “The future of media in Ukraine depends on our ability to adapt, cooperate, and build sustainable, impactful journalism.”

This landmark conversation at LMF 2025 reaffirmed independent media’s role as a fundamental pillar of democracy – one that must be nurtured and strengthened to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and democratic future.