You’re reading the My News Biz newsletter, which I will be sending you every other Thursday. My goal is to help you and other digital media entrepreneurs to find a viable business model that works for you. If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up here. Trustworthy media attract support in Arabic, Dutch, and FrenchDespite censorship, trolls, and failed initiatives, these media are thriving
You’re reading the My News Biz newsletter. My goal is to help digital media entrepreneurs find viable business models. As I mentioned in the previous two posts, for more than a decade I’ve been tracking the innovators and survivors among the news media around the world. I’ve been trying to answer a question: Who has figured out viable new business models? Many of the most innovative have been small digital media. Innovation leaders. These media offer models for other industries and activities that have seen their monopolies challenged by digital competitors — real estate, higher education, shopping malls, banking, health care — you name it. Inkyfada, TunisiaI met Walid Mejri, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Inkyfada at an investigative journalism conference in Jordan in 2018. The publication’s name is a play on the Arabic word “intifada”, or “shaking off”, which was used to describe the 1987 Palestinian uprising against Israel occupation.
This is what I wrote at the time for the Global Investigative Journalism Network: “His organization had its origins in the chaotic media environment of 2013. Many news organizations were shutting down. “He and some fellow journalists were disgusted with the corrupt media and propaganda that remained and decided to launch an organization called Al Khatt, whose purpose was to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression. “Soon after, Al Khatt launched Inkyfada, an online magazine in French and Arabic which produces in-depth reporting using multimedia tools and design to create a new narrative experience.” Innovative economic modelSince then, the organization seems to have thrived with its strategy of generating its own revenues. According to its website in 2023, Al Khatt “generates more than 60% of its revenues through its own activities (training, media education programs, development of technological tools and websites).” Supplementing that are various types of grants. Its financial report for the years 2019 and 2020 shows $471,000 coming from Free Press Unlimited of the Netherlands, $343,000 from International Media Support of Denmark, and $354,000 from the Deutsche Welle Foundation of Germany. Another $300,000 was pledged through 2022 from Open Society Foundations. Inkyfada’s web page highlights in-depth investigations of corruption and abuse of power. This must explain why it continues to attract support from foundations that promote freedom of expression and democratic values. Others serving the Arabic-speaking world
At that 2018 event, I met several other independent publishers serving communities in the Arabic-speaking world. They were still doing their risky work in 2023. Among them: Lina Attalah, founder and editor in chief, Mada Masr, Egypt; Lina Ejeilat, co-founder and executive editor at 7iber, Jordan; and Alia Ibrahim, co-founder and CEO, Daraj, Lebanon. A Dutch publication’s near-death experienceThere are only 23 million Dutch speakers in the world, but De Correspondent has managed to persuade 70,000 of them to pay as much as 95 euros ($104) a year for a “membership”. (Do the math: that’s $7.3 million U.S.) It accepts no advertising.
Although content is behind a paywall, members can share a limited number of articles free with friends and followers. It was founded 10 years ago with the value proposition of “a new kind of journalism” that gets people into action with “in-depth stories that help you better understand the news.” It sold itself as an antidote to “the delirium” produced by mainstream journalism, and it was an immediate success. It attracted 18,000 contributors to an initial crowdfunding campaign and then reached 30,000 members in its first year. English edition failsBuoyed by their success in the Dutch language, they decided in 2019 to launch an English edition and reach that much larger online audience. They raised $2.6 million through a crowdfunding campaign to launch this edition with a headquarters in New York City. But the effort quickly ran into problems when its promised New York office turned out to have just one person, who quit after a year. It was a public relations disaster for a publication that prided itself on transparency and credibility (detailed here by Nieman Lab). The English edition closed after little more than a year. The Dutch edition survived and has thrived. Its resilience is a testament to the public thirst for a journalism focused on audience needs and concerns, rather than on generating clicks and ad revenue. Mediapart in France disproved skepticsI first wrote about Mediapart a decade ago, and here’s my followup from two years ago: “Conventional wisdom predicted failure for the French startup Mediapart in 2008, whose novel concept was an ad-free, subscription-only website focused on investigative journalism. “At the time, few publications dared to charge for a digital subscription, much less for one with such a narrow focus and limited potential audience.” Their goal was to maintain complete editorial independence from the powers that be. Now everyone is trying a subscription model, and Mediapart is one of the most successful. Mediapart President Edwy Plenel reported in his blog that Mediapart reached 211,000 paid subscribers in 2022, placing it among “the top three of the most-read online press of daily news reporting”, behind only Le Monde and Le Figaro. Mediapart reported annual revenues of 21.2 million euros, with a net surplus of 2.6 million euros. This was enough to support a staff of 139, of whom 73 are journalists. The publication accepts no government aid and has no private shareholders. It planned to celebrate its 15th anniversary in a series of public meetings in 15 towns and cities around France and Belgium. Conclusion: what success formula?Each independent publication we’ve talked about in these past three posts has had to find its own way, its own business model. There’s no formula. They have to tailor the model to the characteristics of their local market and needs of their target audience — their interests, socioeconomic level, education level, available technology, local language, and many other market characteristics. Although there is a strong public demand for trustworthy, credible information, each publication has to fight powerful competitors. Tech platforms, social media, and search engines promote sensational, scandalous, and frightening content that gains public attention and generates ad revenue. So, what works for media producing high-quality content? There are several elements, and all of those I’ve highlighted in these three blogs exhibit at least some of the following:
There’s more, of course. The most successful ones are constantly innovating and experimenting with their content, distribution channels, and technology. What’s next. Truthfully, no one knows. TikTok might represent the future, or it might be a fad. Maybe independent media need to hitch their star to an influencer who shares their values and ethics. Influencers have figured out how to reach younger audiences that have no interest in traditional news media. The challenges to producing trustworthy, credible news and information appear to be greater now in the era of artificial intelligence and weaponized misinformation. But the important values haven’t changed. Journalism is a public service, not a tool of autocrats and businesses. And it will have to find ways to be profitable if it is to survive. You're currently a free subscriber to My News Biz. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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jueves, 15 de febrero de 2024
Trustworthy media attract support in Arabic, Dutch, and French
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