As legacy media outlets close, we’re entering the post-journalism era

Alexandra Karppi is research and communications manager at the Balkan Free Media Initiative. Vanesa Valcheva is an operations and projects coordinator at BFMI.

In a region where press freedom is already under stress, Al Jazeera Balkans — which announced it will cease operations this month — is simply the latest casualty.

So far, 2025 has seen a string of closures among legacy media outlets, which have been important for peace and democracy in the Western Balkans for over three decades. And without the visibility and accountability afforded by these media powerhouses, an escalation of government repression across the region looks increasingly likely.

But the stakes of these closures extend much further, foreshadowing the dawn of a worrying chapter in global democracy — the “post-journalism” era, where truth becomes meaningless.

2025 was meant to be a year of revival for European media, with Brussels enacting new legislation on press freedom. In reality, however, the last few months have been anything but, with journalists in Europe’s periphery staring down a full-blown crisis.

Days after his inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump froze foreign funding for the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, ultimately shutting down the latter on July 1. With thousands of independent outlets reliant on these two agencies for funding, the impact was felt in newsrooms across the world via furloughs, firings and office closures.

In March, Trump signed a directive effectively gutting the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which funds Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — two of the most significant outlets covering Europe and Eurasia, with decades-long histories of reporting on authoritarian regimes.

Despite ongoing legal battles, staff layoffs at these organizations are ongoing, including some of the most prominent journalists covering the region. And now, Al Jazeera Balkans will officially stop broadcasting after 14 years.

So far, 2025 has seen a string of closures among legacy media outlets, which have been important for peace and democracy in the Western Balkans for over three decades. | Andrej Cukic/EPA

Independent media have long been in a funding crisis. But the Trump administration suddenly pulling donor funds — and like-minded executives following suit — has wreaked havoc that’s difficult to quantify.

Legacy media like Al Jazeera Balkans, VOA and RFE/RL provided a platform and “cover” for citizens to sound the alarm on government abuse and demand accountability from those in power — especially in state-captured media markets like those in the Balkans.

The impact of these decisions will be felt immediately in Serbia, for example, where a historic wave of repression against media and civil society has been unfolding in parallel with the demolition of U.S. foreign aid. The epicenter of this struggle is ongoing student-led protests that were sparked by a corruption scandal last November.

Citing statements by Trump officials that USAID funds may have been misused, Serbian police raided the offices of four organizations in February — a harbinger of the brutality the government would use against the protesters. And the next round of legacy media closures in March coincided with the vilification of other regional media, like the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, and individual experts.

This is the most dire example, but government instability in Kosovo, interethnic strife in North Macedonia and the secessionist crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina all point to future turbulence, and citizens will desperately need accurate reporting.

In the 1990s, Western governments poured millions into media development, betting that a pluralistic press could inoculate post-conflict societies against authoritarian relapse. Journalism wasn’t just about facts then, it was seen as a central pillar of peace, free markets and democracy. This was the origin of Al Jazeera Balkans, VOA and RFE/RL.

But today, it seems like that bet hasn’t paid off. And when Al Jazeera Balkans shuts down, it will not only mark the end of a respected regional broadcaster, but will signal the onset of the “post-journalism” era. Journalism as we know it will continue to exist, but it will be stripped of influence, reach and meaning.

In this fast-approaching reality, information will be abundant but inconsequential; truth will technically be accessible but structurally irrelevant; and the architecture of media will remain intact but hollowed out by disinformation, distrust and donor fatigue. This is not just a transition from free media to new forms of censorship. It is also a slide into a new world order — one that is a paradise for authoritarians, who are already winning the information war.

The closure of legacy media in the Western Balkans signifies the end of a decades-long fight against authoritarian repression in Europe. And this small region is now a real-time experiment in what the future will look like — unless the democratic community acts.

Europe’s institutions have to move beyond crisis management and the nostalgia for yesterday’s golden age of media. The goal isn’t just to save legacy newsrooms and keep independent media going — it’s to rebuild journalism as a public good, with the funding, infrastructure and political will to match.

As a starting point, Europe sorely needs a shift in its collective mindset. Brussels must see journalism not as a side project of democracy but a necessity for it.