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Vanishing voices: The rise of Media Deserts in the Balkans

As local journalism fades across small towns and villages, a growing silence threatens democracy, accountability, and the right to be informed Media deserts remain an under-researched phenomenon in the Balkan media context, but the reality on the ground shows that the region is far from immune to this growing issue. Imagine that you are somewhere on a beach in the Balkans. The sun is

New Chapter for Local Journalism: Five Serbian Media Outlets Awarded Grants to Produce Public Interest Content

SMS Facility provides financial and mentoring support to help small newsrooms deliver meaningful journalism Local media outlets across Serbia are often the first line of defence for public interest, yet they operate in an increasingly challenging environment. To support their vital work, Thomson Media has awarded grants to five selected media outlets under the “SMS Facility” project, enabling them to produce high-quality content on

How digital transformation was killing me softly (and why it was worth it)

Author: Slawek Blich Case study was originally published in Media Finance Monitor. Visuals in the case study were created by Ewa Stańczak. Peter’s Note: We worked with Slawek and his team on digital product development this year as part of a program by the Thomson Media. It was quite the ride, so after a successful launch, I asked him if he was interested in

The EU Investigative Journalism Award 2025 celebrated bold reporting, regional impact, and a continued rise in public-interest journalism

What this year’s investigations reveal about power, abuse, and accountability in the region Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and Türkiye continue to confront corruption, institutional failures, and human rights violations with uncompromising reporting. The EU Investigative Journalism Award 2025, implemented by Thomson Media and its local partners in SSNM (North Macedonia) and AoJ (Türkiye), once again showcased remarkable stories produced under challenging circumstances,

EU Investigative Journalism Award 2025: Meet the Winners

The EU Investigative Journalism Award 2025 has officially concluded, celebrating the most impactful investigative work from the Western Balkans and Türkiye. This year’s awarded stories highlight the role of investigative journalism in strengthening freedom of expression, advancing the rule of law, and promoting transparency and accountability across the region. Each winning investigation represents how reporting can challenge abuse of power, expose corruption, and bring

Ash-covered budgets: Inside North Macedonia’s power plant corruption scandal

How an IRL investigation uncovered inflated contracts, institutional complicity, and millions lost from North Macedonia’s state budget Maja Jovanovska and Bojan Stojanovski’s investigation for North Macedonia’s Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL), won the 2025 EU Investigative Journalism Regional award for exposing large-scale corruption involving public and private actors. This also marks the second regional award for the IRL team, as they were the first winners

Exposing power without fear: Inside a documentary on systematic political employment in Montenegro

An award-winning investigation into nepotism, public institutions, and accountability after the 2020 change of government Nikola Milosavić Aleksić and Tatjana Ašanin came into their latest documentary with substantial experience. They had already completed two major investigative films, one exposing abuses in the Podgorica Waterworks and another examining the intelligence services and the “Udar” affair. This time, however, the scope was wider and the consequences

Beyond proof of concept: The work that comes after validation

Why audience validation is only the beginning of building sustainable, impactful media projects Media innovation rarely starts with numbers or business plans. It begins with a feeling that something important is missing—and with people who care enough to try to fix it. During the latest Validation Booster cycle, I worked with several media teams that carried that kind of motivation. Among them, two stood

Empowering paths : The impact of the specialised internship for young female journalists and what we learnt from it 

Why investing in young female journalists strengthens media and democracy Thomson Foundation (TF) Deepening Digital Reinforcing Resilience project ran a one-year internship programme that provided structured and focused support to young female journalists across the CEE region. Its goal was to contribute to quality journalism and to the increase of representation of female journalists in the news desks Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

“It didn’t have to happen”: Inside the winning  podcast that uncovered what really caused the tragedy at Serbian Soko mine

How an award-winning investigation turned tragedy into a powerful narrative podcast When journalists Stefan Marković and Jovana Tomić began investigating the fatal accident at the Serbian coal mine “Soko,” which occurred in 2022, they did not plan to produce a narrative podcast. The accident, caused by a sudden and uncontrolled release of methane inside the mine, left eighteen people injured and claimed the lives

Contracts signed for 27 Small grants for media content production

Local media across the Western Balkans begin producing new content As part of the Small grants for media content production grant scheme under the SMS Facility – Small Media Support in Western Balkans project, 27 contracts have been signed with local media outlets across six Western Balkan countries, officially launching the implementation of new projects aimed at improving the quality of media content. This

Breaking the silence: How a Kosovo journalist’s case became a collective struggle and exposed an online network of sexual harassment

From online anonymity to real-world accountability Investigative journalist Ardiana Thaçi Mehmeti, from Kiks Kosova, won first prize at the EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2025 in Kosovo for an investigation that exposed vast online networks of harassment, blackmail, and gender-based violence targeting women and girls.  What began as professional reporting on illicit Telegram groups evolved into a profoundly personal battle, revealing the real-world consequences of

How Chris Dalby validated two sports journalism products—and learned when less is more

A mentoring case study on audience validation, revenue models, and strategic focus in sports journalism written by Christine Liehr  For my previous article on Journalift, I borrowed a sports analogy to describe the mentoring process with Ioana Epure, creator of „The Lost Expat Digest“. Apparently, that didn’t deter the Thomson team to call me back as a mentor for cohort 3. This time, with
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