Donor support for media in Ukraine: how the research was discussed with the Lviv Media Forum team

Is a mutually beneficial partnership between the media and donors possible? We believe it is.

That is why we invited representatives of the Ukrainian media to think together about how to build this partnership, what can be improved and changed in their approaches and practices, and where to start moving in this direction.

The key conclusions and observations of the authors of the study "The Donor Landscape of Media Support in Ukraine" were presented by Olha Bilousenko, head of the research department of Lviv Media Forum, and Otar Dovzhenko, creative director. Media colleagues shared both painful and successful cases of constructive cooperation with donor organizations.

"It is useful for the media to know and understand more about donors, their goals, and the work of these organizations in Ukraine and their country - it broadens the perspective. As well as trying to work with new donors and being proactive in communicating with them. And most importantly, we should not perceive donor funding as a substitute for currently unavailable sources of income, but rather look at cooperation with donors as a partnership for a common goal," said Dovzhenko.

"We believe that this study has shed light on the issues in media cooperation with donors that have remained out of our sight until now. And it is very valuable that the study and its results have launched a sincere discussion that will contribute to mutual understanding in further cooperation between stakeholders on both sides. We hope that in a few years we will be able to repeat this study and see how the situation has changed in the dynamics," says Olha Bilousenko.

And we once again recommend reading our research and would be grateful if you would like to share your thoughts, advice and stories in any way convenient for you.

You can watch the recording of the discussion here.