Sustainability & viability
Articles about the effectiveness of donor and foundation-supported programmes to support the sustainability and viability of journalism.
Last updated
Articles about the effectiveness of donor and foundation-supported programmes to support the sustainability and viability of journalism.
Last updated
This resource page is a work in progress. Please get in touch to let us know what is missing using this form.
Position paper on the role philanthropy might play in funding independent and public interest media in the European context:
It seems that the threats to democracy, and the recent series of ever more extreme societal and planetary crises we face, have helped them see more clearly the pivotal, central role that independent public interest media play in keeping our societies, democracies and economies open. And what’s even more encouraging is to see the positive talk backed up with concrete measures and actions. Because independent journalism needs this support more than ever.
... in Europe there are still relatively few funders that specialise in journalism, whether through a specialised programme, or as their main focus ‒ and this group of donors is not growing fast enough in number or in resources.
"Ethiopia’s 21-month-old civil war is accelerating the deterioration of press freedom in the Horn of Africa nation. The conflict between the federal government and the rebel forces led by the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) has prompted a media crackdown that extinguished the glimmer of hope sparked by the initial reforms of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Research by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows that Ethiopia now ranks with Eritrea as sub-Saharan Africa’s worst jailer of journalists."
"One of the most meaningful changes in our economy in the past decade has been the astronomical growth in online advertising — and the corresponding destruction of newspaper advertising.
In the past decade, online advertising soared to $189 billion from $31 billion. During roughly the same time period, newspaper ad revenues collapsed, falling from about $20 billion in 2010 to $10 billion in 2020, as advertisers moved to cheaper, more-targeted online ads."
"In the Caribbean, like many other places, the legislative framework allowing for the free flow of information needs to be strengthened. While a few Caribbean countries have launched open data portals, data availability is still limited throughout the region. To remedy this and recognize information as a public good, Caribbean nations need strong freedom of and access to information laws, whistleblower protection, and data protection."
This article explains how "individual donors and funding organisations recognise the importance of quality and independent journalism and will go out of their way to support it," as they explained in WAN-IFRA's Asian Media Leaders Summit. Effective intervention in the sector was explained through the pillars of strong public support and serving readers and contributors.
"Studies show that people who live in news deserts or other locations with little local news are less likely to be actively involved in their community or participate in local elections. They are also more likely to believe false information spread online through social media and fake or fringe websites.
Through formal and informal collaborations, college journalists are helping to serve the communities where their universities are located by making sustained contributions to local media."
"ICFJ has developed Leap, a news innovation lab. Our goal is not innovation simply for its own sake. We designed Leap to give newsrooms across the world the space to explore the most essential challenges confronting journalism today and to shape its future."
"News is not a given in people’s lives. It can’t be assumed people will seek to learn about our world via journalism. It can’t be assumed people understand and value the way that journalism works or why we think the information we produce has value. It can’t be assumed that the way we tell stories is the way people want to hear them."
"The CEO of Ukraine's leading independent news website has warned that the actions of Google and Facebook in his country are harming the sustainability of independent news."
"Any news organization that aims to sustain its work financially must develop its own business plan, tailored to its audience... That’s why ICFJ launched Elevate, which takes journalists leading independent news ventures to the next level. Through this global exchange, coaching and grant program, news leaders develop the business skills needed to grow and sustain their small- and medium-sized news outlets so they can keep producing independent, accurate news."
The full report is available here.
"New research by Economist Impact, supported by UNESCO, finds that Covid-19 intensified economic pressures facing the global news media industry. Outlets in low- and middle-income countries have been the most severely impacted, with a rate of decline almost two times faster than the global average. This has led to newsroom closures, layoffs and pay cuts for journalists at a time when access to trustworthy information is desperately needed."
In light of International Women's Day, this article highlights "the relationship between gender and media business performance" and the "media innovations from around the world that champion women." The article is divided into the following sections: women as a primary target, serving the female audience, diversity within newsrooms and leadership, gender and reader revenue, gender-based harassment, partnerships and institutional funding, branded content revenue, gender and events business, a collaboration around gender topics, and a way forward.
Internews
"We have seen this before. Publishers desperate for new revenue streams pile into the latest fad in content or distribution. Huge investments are made. Big media buy up dazzling startups wielding some promising new technology. Disappointment follows, and in a year or two, everyone looks for the next Big Thing.
Will podcasts follow this trend? I think not, for several economic, technological, and journalistic reasons."
Several SLAPP lawsuits have been targeting investigative journalists and publications in Greece. These lawsuits have been used as instruments to silence journalists "carrying out important investigative work."
iSpeak - GWEN LISTER
"The independent journalists of yesteryear took on undemocratic governments, spoke truth to power and tried to forge a better world. Journalism wasn’t then, and still isn’t today, a job for the fainthearted."
Global Investigative Journalism Network - AMEL GHANI
The Fix - JAMES BREINER
"Independent media, along with activists, have been under assault in Russia since before the invasion. The country has often ranked among the lowest worldwide in the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and came in 150th out of 180 in the 2021 rankings. The latest restrictions make the situation even worse."
"We operate in an environment where holding the powerful to account is increasingly difficult, and where state actors routinely interfere with the advertising market, starving independent media to favour those willing to toe the government line."
The resource on this page are organised into the following sections:
International research
Regional level research
Country-level research
"A year ago we published a study titled 'Saving journalism'... which examined the state of journalism during the pandemic. Now we are revisiting the topic to look at worldwide trends and to find out what strategies show promise in turning around the decline of media outlets and the loss of journalism jobs."
"Given their centrality to all areas of development, it's no surprise that there is a growing discussion among impact investors, from private foundations to private equity funds, about the role that investing can play in helping the world meet the SDGs."
This article examines how to design a paywall and journalistic focus, as a part of the Known to Work series, which seeks to present data-backed elements that have been proven to work through real examples and experiences.
“Sustainability is a kind of attention that’s only accessible when newsroom staff have time to think and explore, and to be closer to our communities, without feeling like this is time stolen from other deliverables.”
The GNI Global News Equity Fund is a new multi-million dollar commitment to provide rewards of up to $250,000 to news organizations who serve underrepresented communities worldwide.
"It's time to stop talking about a new business model - because there is no new business model that will magically make journalism financially sustainable."
"Media viability is the cornerstone of every media outlet's existence, no matter if commercial, non-profit or community oriented. But it's a complex issue. It's not surprising that for years many media outlets around the world have been struggling to get a grip on their viability."
"The COVID-19 crisis has disastrous effects on media outlets. It has also generated a stark increase in audience demand for reliable information. What does this mean for a media organisation, its operations, and business model? And how can media outlets become more resilient in the long term?"
"Now, more than ever, a clear understanding is needed of how news media outlets can stay – or become – viable. Which aspects should be considered when trying not only to survive financially as a media outlet but to produce quality content and attract enough income to run a successful business? What political frameworks need to be in place to foster a vibrant media landscape?"
"In the face of challenges posed by a shifting digital media landscape, an array of international bodies continue to endorse public service media (PSM) as an essential component of democratisation. Yet how can PSM achieve viability in settings where models of media independence and credibility are unfamiliar or rejected by political leaders?"
"Advances in technology have disrupted the media ecosystem. There is no single way to overcome the economic challenges of running a media outlet, but there are patterns. What do successful media companies do differently?"
"This paper presents a new model for Media Viability at a time when media outlets face enormous difficulties delivering quality reporting while staying financially afloat. Available in various languages."
"This guide also aims to provide funders with a framework to help them support their own individual projects. It addresses the key reasons for funding projects, and separates them between an intrinsic approach, which takes the view that media is positive and needs support because it serves as a benefit to society, and an instrumental approach, where the media is seen as a trusted vehicle for thematic messages."
This article highlights what the author learned and saw at the International Symposium of Online Journalism (ISOJ). It goes over stimulating local journalism, media accelerators, fact-checkers that work in the region but collaborate globally, subscription structures, and how media navigates suppression.
"The International Symposium of Online Journalism (ISOJ) has been a showcase of media innovation since its launch in 1999 by Rosental Alvez... I've attended and spoken at several of them and always found it stimulating and rewarding. This year, 296 people from 21 countries attended in person. I attended online from Germany, along with more than 900 others from 90 countries."
African media felt the impacts of COVID-19 very deeply, as there "were no subsidiaries and little state financial support. The government support available was not media-specific." However, "efforts were made to increase donor funding to support journalism in some African countries in 2020 and 2021."
"The East Africa's media landscape is distinctly fascinating as shown by the three independent country reports... The studies were guided by the DW Academy Media Viability Indicators (MVIs) which consider five key aspects: politics, economy, technology, community, and content."
"After the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, newsrooms came under pressure to make immediate changes, and some chose to appoint a head of diversity, noted Doris Truong, director of training and diversity at Poynter. But it isn't clear those executives are being supported, as some work on DEI part-time, in addition to other duties, or in isolation from other staff."
