Defying Expectations: Essays on innovation, resilience and sustainability in independent media in South and Southeast Asia

Asia has one of the most vibrant media landscapes in the world that offers everything from oppressive media environments to an innate culture of innovation. Whatever your perception, Asia challenges it.

The Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) will launch ‘Defying Expectations: Essays on innovation, resilience, and sustainability in independent media across South and Southeast Asia’. This new publication brings together 12 essays from media practitioners working in diverse markets in South and Southeast Asia. Drawn from MDIF’s Amplify Asia and Myanmar Media Programme, the report highlights real-world examples of how independent media are strengthening business models, adapting to digital change and building resilient organizations, often in highly challenging political and financial environments.

From a Burmese media outlet operating and thriving in exile, to a legacy outlet in Pakistan leveraging AI to scale editorial output, these stories reflect a wide spectrum of geographies, audiences and approaches. Together, they offer practical insights not only for media, but for funders and mission-driven organizations navigating uncertainty and resource constraints. The launch will bring leading voices from media, civil society, academia and philanthropy to exchange ideas, discuss, debate and explore opportunities for collaboration to ensure a more sustainable future for Asian media.

MDIF is a not-for-profit impact investment fund specializing in the media sector. Since 1995, MDIF has invested around $340 million in 159 independent media companies in 50 countries, where press freedom is under threat and access to reliable information is limited. Through these investments, MDIF supports independent media businesses to strengthen their financial sustainability while safeguarding their editorial independence.

Speakers:

Yuliasri Perdani, director of collaboration, Project Multatuli from Indonesia.

Prayana Rana, founding editor, Kalam Weekly from Nepal.

An exiled Burmese media business expert.