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. Media funding cuts have silver lining'Those who embrace change will survive,' says innovator in Ukraine
You’re reading the Your News Biz newsletter. My goal is to help digital media entrepreneurs find viable business models.
This is a story of a media innovator in Eastern Europe named Jakub Parusinski and what he sees as the future of independent media around the world. I’ve written about him and his projects before here and here. When I interviewed Parusinski four years ago, he said his goal was to become become “the McKinsey & Co.” of media consulting in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Where other investors and entrepreneurs saw risk — press freedom under threat from authoritarian governments, financial decline, layoffs — he saw opportunity. All of the problems of independent media in the region, he said, were simply because they needed more money. He has since built on that vision and insight. He has degrees in business and economics from universities in France and experience as a columnist for the Financial Times and the Kyiv Post, where he later became editor and CEO. (He lists French, English, and Polish as his native languages, plus “full professional proficiency” in Russian.) Fired and censoredStep 1. In 2019, he and several others founded Jnomics Media, a media consultancy “that aims to prove that media can be both mission-driven and profitable.” Step 2. He was among the journalists fired by the Kyiv Post for criticizing Ukrainian authorities. They turned around and launched the Kyiv Independent news organization in 2021, just three months before the Russian invasion. Step 3. These days Parusinski is editor of a $200-a-month newsletter, KI Insights, which aims to “provide subscribers with an inside perspective on Ukraine’s political and economic developments — and the country’s road to reconstruction.” The road aheadBecause of all this, I was interested in his takeaways from the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, in April. He had some pointed observations and criticisms of journalism funding models. And yet, “despite the doom and gloom” caused by funding cuts to media development organizations, “I left the festival more optimistic than I arrived – mainly because of some of the less obvious ways in which the industry has changed.” Parusinski sees lots of inefficiencies in the way journalism aid organizations have invested. Some of his reflections after Perugia:
An independent media voice in UkraineThe funding model of the Kyiv Independent shows dramatically how a media organization can survive and produce valuable news and information under extremely trying conditions — power outages, missile and drone strikes, battlefield coverage.
Reader supported. The 60-person Independent receives most of its funding from 19,500 readers who contribute on a monthly or yearly basis. Other sources include one-time donations, an online store, content syndication, and advertising. “In this way, we can ensure that we serve our readers and community, and nobody else,” their website declares. Readers who provide recurring financial support are called members of the Kyiv Independent. “Most give $5 a month — and thanks to their contributions, we are able to fund our operations and reach millions of readers around the world every week. Membership shows just how powerful collective action can be.” Final thought: trust has economic valueAnyone who identifies themselves these days as a journalist hears some version of the following: The media can’t be trusted, they’re biased, they’re sensationalistic, they depress me, I avoid the news, I hate the media. Do I need to go on? They readers are absolutely right, of course. What gets fed to most of us through mainstream and social media — cable news, broadcast networks, and our echo chambers — is often trying to persuade us rather than inform us. The algorithm-driven news menu emphasizes what the shouters from the extremes have to say because that’s what gets attention. In our attention economy, the economic value of any information product is based on how much time and attention the public gives it. Every business wants it. Their public relations people want it. Advertisers want it.
Jnomics, the Kyiv Independent, and KI Insights have all been thriving in the face of seemingly impossible working conditions. That should give us all some reasons for optimism. Previously: Four reasons for optimism, Librarians and data geeks strike fear in the hearts of autocratic bullies Free speech playbook: How news media are refusing to be silenced You're currently a free subscriber to Your News Biz. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Media funding cuts have silver lining
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