Author: BALM
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Balkan Alliance for Local Media launches, issues Call for Change
Balkan Alliance for Local Media launches, issues Call for Change
November 13, 2025 – A unique regional network, the Balkan Alliance for Local Media (BALM), launched today. At the moment, BALM unites 27 independent local, community, and minority media outlets from Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.
The launch marks a significant milestone for journalism in the region, reflecting a growing movement to strengthen collaboration among small but vital newsrooms that serve diverse communities and languages.
At the heart of today’s announcement is a policy appeal, “Call for Change”, which urges international funders, media development organizations, wider civil society, and local and EU policymakers to rethink how media support is designed and delivered in the Balkans.
This appeal reflects lessons learned from years of fragmented project-based support and a growing consensus that true sustainability requires trust, stability, and shared responsibility between funders and media actors.
The Call for Change backs practical shifts: multi-year core support that covers people and basic costs so small newsrooms can plan and develop; lighter administrative procedures sized to their capacity; fast emergency funds when journalists face threats; and real safety support, from legal help (including SLAPPs) to digital security and mental health assistance. It also calls for dedicated support for local, community, and minority-language media, with realistic eligibility and small starter grants, and for funding that supports everyday reporting and beats – not only one-off projects.
Equally important is how support is designed: we ask for a participatory approach between funders and media that sets priorities together, reviews progress together, and adjusts as stories evolve. Finally, the Call backs resilient, diversified, and realistic revenue options that fit small or segmented markets, without ever compromising editorial independence.
Why this matters now: Local outlets in divided and overlooked places across the Balkans provide vital information to their communities. Yet they work under worsening conditions that directly affect communities’ access to reliable news: harassment, threats, physical attacks, SLAPPs, attempts at political and economic capture, and an increasingly volatile political environment marked by rising polarization, nationalism, and authoritarianism across the region.
The risk of “news deserts”: As these pressures mount, more places are left with little or no independent local reporting. The result is simple and serious: communities lose access to timely, locally relevant information.
BALM emphasizes that resilient local and community journalism is essential for social cohesion, accountability, and informed democratic participation, especially in multilingual and marginalized communities.
The Call for Change is not just directed at donors – it’s an invitation to rethink how we value and sustain journalism that truly serves local communities. Supporting local and community media means supporting informed communities and stronger democracies. We invite all stakeholders at the national, regional, and European levels to join the debate and the road to change – so that communities across the Balkans can count on credible local information when it matters most.
How to engage:
• Read about the alliance: https://balkanlocalmedia.org/about-us/
• Read the Call for Change: https://balkanlocalmedia.org/call-for-change/
• Browse member stories: https://balkanlocalmedia.org/stories-list/Contact: Balkan Alliance for Local Media (BALM) — hello@balkanlocalmedia.org | https://balkanlocalmedia.org/
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A Well-Written Project, a Bad Story
A Well-Written Project, a Bad Story
Sometimes I feel that donors reward the skill of writing applications more than the actual importance of the topics. It’s most visible when it comes to environmental stories.
Whenever we apply for a project about lithium mining, water pollution, or the destruction of rivers by small hydropower plants, we regularly get rejected. The explanation usually says the topic is “too broad,” “not innovative enough,” or “outside the priorities of the call.”
Yet these are issues that directly affect thousands of people — their water, their land, their health. These are the stories that should be at the center of every serious media program.
Then I look at the list of approved projects: pieces about “influencers’ eco habits” or “urban gardening in a coworking space.” Nice, cute — but far from the essence.
I don’t blame those people. On the contrary, they know how to write projects. They know exactly which words donors like: empowerment, innovation, storytelling, community impact.
But knowing how to write a project is not the same as knowing how to recognize a real story.
Donors often don’t see the reality on the ground. They read applications from offices in Brussels, Berlin, or Vienna — and it’s hard for them to grasp what it means when a river disappears or when a village loses its drinking water.
So today, when I write project proposals, I always face the same dilemma:
Should I write what the donor wants to hear, or what the public needs to know?
And that, it seems to me, is the heart of our problem — as long as rules dictate form, the most important stories will remain untold.
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Travel and Work — But Don’t Eat
Travel and Work — But Don’t Eat
We carried out a project about life in remote parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina — field stories, conversations with people living by rivers, in the mountains, in villages with no signal or asphalt. The project was well designed, the budget decent, but the donor’s rules were absurd.
During three months, we made about ten trips, each 300 kilometers one way. We traveled through rain, snow, and sun, carrying equipment, filming, writing, editing. Then came an explanation from the donor’s office: food and accommodation were not eligible expenses.
They said we could pay for fuel, but not a sandwich or coffee on the road, nor an overnight stay if we couldn’t make it back the same day. So, by their rules, we could go to the field — but without food or sleep.
In the report, we had to list every route, number of kilometers, departure and return times, location photos, signed statements from interviewees, even Google Maps links. For every visit — a separate Excel file, a separate table, a separate confirmation.
By the end of the project, we had more pages of reports than published stories.
The most absurd part was that we had the money in the budget but weren’t allowed to spend it on what we actually needed: a warm meal and a place to sleep.
When it was all over, we sent honest feedback to the donor, hoping they’d change the rules. The reply was brief:
“Thank you for your suggestions, but the procedure remains the same.”
The next time we planned a similar project, we simply said:
“If we can’t eat the bread from our own work — it’s better not to travel.”
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Three Offers for a USB Cable
Three Offers for a USB Cable
It was last year, in the middle of a project meant to help small local media outlets develop digital formats. The project was worth only a few thousand euros, but the amount of paperwork and rules was as if we were building a bridge.
One day I needed to buy an ordinary USB cable for 12 euros. The donor required three offers from different stores and a screenshot of each. One shop didn’t have the cable, another didn’t send offers by email, and the third told me to come in person. Two days passed, I lost the will to continue, and the shoot was delayed by three days.
When I asked if I could just buy the cable and send the receipt, the officer from the donor organization coldly replied:
“Unfortunately, that’s not in line with our procedures.”
That’s when I realized how often procedures are completely detached from real life and the rhythm of small newsrooms. For us, every day matters — if we miss the moment, the story disappears.
We finished the project, but we never applied to that donor again. I told my colleagues that if we ever write a handbook for donors, the first chapter will be called:
“How Not to Ask for Three Offers for a USB Cable.”
