Danes donate £69,000 in solidarity with Syrian newspapers

In just three weeks, the readers of the Danish daily Politiken have donated nearly 650,000 Danish kroner (£69,000) to five independent Syrian newspapers. The money ensures the distribution of more than 215,000 newspapers inside the country.

In collaboration with International Media Support, Politiken launched a fundraising campaign in September to support five independent Syrian newspapers’ joint distribution programme inside Syria. The campaign ended Sunday 12 October.

Donations raised by Politiken’s campaign will go in full to the production and distribution of the independent newspapers to the Syrian population.

Visit Politiken to learn more about the campaign (in Danish)

The campaign was part of IMS’ work to support the Syrian Network for Print Media in its efforts to provide Syrian citizens in Syria as well as in neighbouring countries with access to essential and diverse information under extremely difficult circumstances.

The 649,231 Danish kroner will ensure the distribution of more than 215,000 newspapers inside Syria. The first copies have already been distributed to the many refugees around Syria’s largest city, Aleppo.

Despite their increasing importance for the Syrian population inside and outside the country, particularly amongst those deprived of online access, Syrian print media are facing profound challenges not only to report from inside Syria but also in disseminating their productions under extreme security threats.

Five of the most prominent, independent Syrian newspapers (Koulouna Sourioun, Sada al-Sham, Tamddon, Enab Baladi and Souriatna), recently took the important step to found the Syrian Network for Print Media, SNP, based on a set of shared journalistic principles and ethical standards. The joint printing and distribution of the five newspapers is crucial because it enables them to reach out to a wider audience.

Until now, printing and distribution has primarily been carried out with each media relying on its own individual distribution network or on distribution networks that may potentially exert influence on their editorial freedom.

With the donations from the Danish public through Politiken’s campaign, hundreds of thousands of Syrians will now be able to read about what is happening in their own country, in media not subject to censorship and other external pressure.

Over the coming months, Politiken and IMS will continue to monitor the work of the five newspapers and their distribution network. In Denmark, the new journalistic ties established between Politiken and the five papers enables Politiken to upgrade and increase its coverage of the Syrian conflict.

Together with IMS, Politiken will be putting together an educational programme to improve the journalistic skills of the five newspapers.