When USAID funding disappeared, Europe nearly lost part of its democratic backbone. The recovery proved what’s possible—and what’s needed, underscoring the importance of funding journalism to revive democracy in Europe.

When journalists expose environmental harms, climate funders get the data they need to push for reform, further demonstrating the importance of funding journalism to revive democracy. When reporters track the spread of false health information, public-health campaigns can respond before trust erodes. When local media follow how EU funds are spent, corruption is likely to be prevented. Every foundation’s success depends on this kind of reporting: the steady work that keeps facts in public view.

Earlier this year, when the US cut its funding of independent media overnight, Europe learned how fragile that foundation really is, further showcasing the need to fund journalism to revive democracy.

In Cyprus, when the newsroom CIReN discovered that every one of its funders was indirectly tied to USAID, the shock was quiet but devastating. Four different European grants looked, on paper, like a healthy mix. In reality, they all drew from a single pipeline. When that pipeline closed, the newsroom was days away from shutting down, showing the dangers of not being able to fund journalism to revive democracy.

Across the continent, the pattern repeated. Many independent not-for-profit newsrooms investigating corruption or exposing abuse found that part of their survival rested on US taxpayers. The scramble that followed was about more than keeping reporters paid; it made visible a dependency we’d long ignored. How had European democracies come to rely on a foreign government to sustain their own public interest journalism?

The answer had been building for years. Public investment in civic media shrank. Digital markets rewarded attention, not accuracy. Philanthropy stepped in, but support across Europe was never built with a clear plan. Some regions drew attention and resources; others were barely on the map. What looked like a sturdy network was, in truth, a single beam. When it cracked, a lot of quality journalism felt the weight, demonstrating the need to continue funding journalism to revive democracy.

Funding Journalism to Revive Democracy: Months of Improvisation

The months that followed tested not only the media organisations we support, but philanthropy itself amidst the challenge of funding journalism to revive democracy. None of us had a plan for what to do when the main funding artery of an entire field closed overnight. We had committees and review cycles, but no emergency switch. Even funders who wanted to help struggled to move quickly because their systems weren’t built for emergency response.

Read the full article about democracy in Europe by Alinda Vermeer, Elisa Peter, and Rogier van der Weerd at Alliance Magazine.