Meera Selva’s Post

After 3.5 years, the Support for Ukrainian Media Survival (SUMS) project has wrapped up, and I couldn't be prouder of what our team and our partners built together. Funded by Sweden 🇸🇪 through Sida, SUMS awarded 27 grants and supported 106 independent Ukrainian media outlets and 486 journalists throughout some of the most difficult years in Ukrainian media history. From national outlets rebuilding their commercial models from scratch to hyperlocal newsrooms in frontline communities where no other independent media operates, the project was a reminder of why this work matters. The numbers tell part of the story: 79% of supported outlets adopting new financial diversification practices, 45 published investigations that contributed to real accountability outcomes, 30 newsrooms with new gender-sensitive editorial policies, and 123 million content views — that's a real audience that kept receiving independent information throughout the war. Newsrooms that started the project in survival mode ended it with functioning commercial departments, paid subscriber communities, and the organisational foundations to keep going independently. But what I'll carry with me is the people — journalists who kept reporting under shelling, editors who built something lasting under impossible conditions, and a team that delivered with professionalism and care every single day. And none of this would have been possible without the Armed Forces of Ukraine — whose courage and sacrifice make it possible for us to keep building independent media, civil society, and democratic institutions even in the middle of the war. Thank you, Internews, for trusting me with this project. Thank you to Sweden for the sustained commitment to independent journalism in Ukraine when it mattered most. And thank you to my incredible London-based team — you know who you are :) 🩷 On to what's next.