For decades, the United States was the world’s largest funder of independent media through USAID, supporting investigative journalism, information integrity initiatives, journalist safety programs, and efforts to strengthen the market viability of media operations.

Daniel Sabet, a visiting fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, joins independent journalist Nica Hanopol to break down what was actually lost when that funding disappeared almost overnight. He paints a sobering picture of a global press freedom infrastructure that collapsed faster than anyone could respond to - and of what must happen next.

Read the full research, “The Impact of Ending U.S. International Media Assistance,” published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, here: https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/04/united-states-international-media-assistance-ending-usaid-independent-journalism

This episode was produced by Tricia Aquino and engineered by Anthony Tobias. 

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