Pikara, Lyuk Media, Komune, Candeliousfang, Charly Matt, Marinette: three independent media outlets and three European content creators join Sphera Network for eight months of support.
Being an independent media outlet often means fighting alone against ever-increasing media concentration. To bring out all these voices and give them the means to collaborate in order to strengthen their independence, Sphera proposes a network of European media. Because quality information is built better together.
Coordinated by Médianes since 2024, the network brings together newsrooms committed to independent journalism across Europe: 444 (Hungary), El Salto (Spain), Popaganda (Greece), StreetPress (France), Krytyka Polityczna (Poland), VD News (Italy), all convinced that the challenges facing independent media (funding, visibility, editorial sustainability) cannot be solved in isolation. To tackle them, establishing concrete solidarity, sharing practices and collaborations that transcend national borders are essential.
It is in this spirit that the Media Collabs program was born.
Support designed to strengthen independence
Launched in April 2026, Media Collabs takes another step in this shared-resources logic: for the first time, the program opens to engaged content creators. Because they often reach the same audiences, champion the same causes, and face the same structural vulnerabilities, without always having the same resources to address them.
Strategy, business models, editorial formats, audience analysis… If Media Collabs are a way to share expertise, they're also an opportunity to build lasting connections between stakeholders united by the same values and facing the same challenges, whether they're based in Kharkiv, Madrid, or Paris.
For eight months, each award winner benefits from personalized support provided by a member of the Sphera network, as well as masterclasses to develop their skills. The program also includes them in two key network events: in-person meetings in Paris in July, followed by the Sphera Media Lab in Brussels in December 2026.
Being supported by El Salto or Krytyka Polityczna is not just about gaining expertise—it's about joining a network of peers who have built, often in challenging circumstances, media outlets that endure. Program participants will finish with a genuine long-term vision for their projects.
Selected media
Komune 🇫🇷 — A young French media outlet that examines society from an anti-racist perspective. It will be joined by StreetPress.
Pikara 🇪🇸 — Pikara is an independent Spanish media outlet that covers current events through an intersectional feminist lens. It will be joined by El Salto.
Lyuk Media 🇺🇦 — Based in Kharkiv, this Ukrainian media outlet offers an alternative to conventional conflict coverage by highlighting community, culture, and citizen resistance. It will be joined by Krytyka Polityczna.
Selected creators
Candeliousfang 🇪🇸 — A Spanish content creator specializing in the humanities and anthropology. She will be joined by VD News.
Charly Matt 🇮🇹 — An Italian content creator specializing in fact-checking and the world of work. He will be joined by Arty Farty.
Marinette 🇫🇷 — French feminist content creator. She will be joined by Médianes.
Pairs designed to create real synergies
Each pair was formed by taking into account the themes, formats and contexts of each award recipient. Pikara and El Salto share a feminist and Spanish grounding; Lyuk and Krytyka Polityczna are both newsrooms from Central and Eastern Europe working in politically tense environments; Komune and StreetPress share journalism rooted in French social realities and firmly antiracist. For the creators, the partnerships follow the same logic: bringing together complementary practices so that mentoring becomes a dialogue as well.
What next?
This programme is part of our commitment to expand and strengthen Sphera in the long term. The goal is not to create a closed network, but to gradually build an ecosystem where independent European media can support one another: editorially, strategically, and humanly.
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Written by Médianes
