Join us as Daniel Sabet from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Susan Abbott, Founder and Principal at Cross-Pollinate Consulting, present findings from forthcoming research examining the consequences of terminating US foreign assistance to independent media in early 2025. Drawing on 70 interviews and a global survey of 177 media organizations across 44 countries, this session reveals how the sudden withdrawal of the world's largest media donor—representing up to $258 million annually—has devastated newsrooms worldwide. While the financial impacts have been substantial, in some countries the loss of political and diplomatic support for a free press has been more significant. The discussion will explore what this means for the media sector, democracy more broadly, US soft power, and where we go from here. The full study will be published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and available in the coming weeks.