After the new U.S. administration took office and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) became a target of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, debates have surfaced in Armenia over whether the suspension or termination of U.S. aid will inevitably harm the country’s media landscape.

As usual, no normal discussion was held. One pole is gloating: “The end of the “grant-eaters” has come,” while the “old-timers” at the other pole warn, “We will no longer have independent media.” And almost no one is talking about the fact that truly independent media must be financially self-sufficient.

When we founded Mediamax 26 years ago, achieving self-sufficiency (this happened about 6 months after the launch of the activity) was a cornerstone for us. At the time, we operated solely as a news or wire agency, and were warned that with four established agencies already serving Armenia’s small market, we wouldn’t survive the competition. However, from the outset, we focused on offering services that stood apart from the existing ones, and this contributed not only to increasing Mediamax’s reputation, but also to making money.

About five years after Mediamax was founded, we realized that the development and expansion of the Internet would sooner or later “kill” the traditional subscription-based model on which all news agencies relied. Thus, in 2006, we created www.Banks.am, with one of its goals at that time being to enhance financial literacy among the public. Banks.am became profitable within months, and today, nearly two decades later, it is not only Armenia’s most respected platform for business and financial information, but also one of the pillars of Mediamax Media Company’s financial independence.

In 2019, I wrote the column “Gratuitous spaces and the “poor” media,” which drew heavy criticism from some colleagues. Yet even today, I stand by every word I wrote, because no one can explain why Mediamax should pay market rent for its office space, while other private media outlets receive space from the state for free or at a symbolic price and make a fuss when the conditions change.

The small grants we occasionally receive for specific projects have never exceeded 1-2% of our annual revenue. Mediamax Media Company earns the remaining 98-99% in different ways: advertising sales, “native” content and special projects, media monitoring and analysis. As a result, between 1999 and 2024, Mediamax paid a total of 724.5 million drams in taxes and other mandatory payments, of which 348.7 million drams (approximately 48%) were direct taxes.

For four years now, we have operated the Mediamax Premium platform, where subscribers receive twice-weekly emails from me for a small fee. While it is not a major revenue stream, it serves as an alternative source of income.

Our online bookstore, launched just a few months ago, has already begun generating extra revenue.

Looking ahead, we are preparing to introduce new products that will be new to the Armenian market.

I share all of this not out of pride, but to show that if desired, self-sufficient media can be created and sustained in Armenia. Yes, it requires daily hard work, a true laborer’s effort, but the same challenges exist for quality media worldwide, and these pressures drive creativity and push media outlets to come up with new ideas.

I firmly believe that only self-sufficient media, free from reliance on the government, political parties, economic groups, foreign governments and foundations can be called independent.
The only exception is niche media. For instance, it is clear that Hetq.am, which is engaged in investigative journalism, does not have the same freedom to monetize its content as we do. However, when it comes to general media, they should all operate according to market principles, or not operate at all.

Ara Tadevosyan is the Director of Mediamax.