Jinn is a Berlin-based non-profit organisation that supports displaced newsrooms and at-risk media workers, and strengthens international collaboration in independent journalism. We work to protect press freedom, sustain exile media ecosystems, and enable cross-border reporting that serves the public interest.Jinn was established in 2022, building on the Journalism in Need Network that emerged during the early phase of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent exodus of independent journalists from Russia and Eastern Partnership countries. What began as rapid-response support evolved into a structured organisation with programmes for capacity building, education, and cross-border collaboration.
A resilient independent media sector in and beyond Russia and the Eastern Partnership region, where journalists can report safely, collaborate across borders, and reach audiences despite repression, displacement, and disinformation.
We provide practical support and long-term capacity building for exiled and at-risk journalists and newsrooms in Germany and internationally. We combine consulting, training, funding, fellowships, and coaching with research and advocacy to strengthen sustainable independent journalism and collaborative investigations.
In coalition with organisations including Reporters Without Borders, n-ost, dekoder, JX Fund, MiCT, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Körber Foundation, Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, Media Hub Riga and Coopera e.V., we provided emergency support and consultancy for displaced journalists and newsrooms in 2022–2023. Over time, we expanded our work with partners such as Prague Civil Society Center, Free Press Unlimited, Tactical Tech, taz Panter Foundation and CISR e.V. to strengthen training, fellowships, and advocacy related to the rights of exiled journalists and protection against transnational repression.
Our work is designed to meet immediate needs while building long-term resilience. We support media organisations, freelance journalists, and independent reporters, with a strong focus on those from Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia who have been forced to relocate, as well as those collaborating with colleagues reporting from within the region.
We support exiled newsrooms and displaced journalists through consultancy on relocation, administrative, and employment-related needs, alongside targeted funding and capacity building. Through educational programmes and networking in Berlin and beyond, we advance exchange, innovation, and the piloting of viable revenue models. Our research and coaching generate evidence on sustainability strategies and policy, strengthening advocacy for press freedom in repressive environments.
We provide fellowships, mentorship, and internships with newsrooms and partner organisations. These opportunities strengthen reporting skills, enable collaborative training, and support networking and cooperation with in-country journalists.
Through workshops, coordination, and facilitation, we strengthen investigative journalism and collaborative reporting. We support cross-border investigations, including work addressing foreign information manipulation and interference.
Jinn brings together a diverse network of media organisations and newsrooms in Germany, investigative teams operating at home or in exile, investigative reporters and data researchers, platforms of Indigenous peoples of Europe, North and Central Asia, human rights organisations, and other stakeholders. Our network members and partners are based in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
We are funded through public funding, including support from the German Federal Foreign Office and the European Union, as well as through consultancy and partnership projects.
Our core team is based in Berlin and focuses on consultancy, advocacy, and coordinating training and collaborative media programmes. To learn more about our work, read our latest updates in the Projects and News sections, follow us on LinkedIn, subscribe to our newsletter, or contact team@jinn-media.org.