"Based on 25 in-person and skype meetings and extensive desk research, we identified a significant trend in the journalistic ecosystem in which information is created, delivered and monetized: the trend toward distributed production and delivery and subsequent absence of monetizing capacity and infr
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astructure. We concluded with confidence that quality journalism is a self-supporting proposition in this new ecosystem, and even a quite profitable one. We identified 52 means to generate revenue or reduce costs, and we identified what is lacking in and obstructing development toward the profitable exploitation of quality journalism in the digital age." (Itnroduction, page 1)
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"Our remit was to look for innovative media outlets that are producing high-quality news, that are technologically innovative and that might actually survive financially. Accordingly, we spent three months interviewing media innovators around the world and reading what others have written on the sub
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ject. This report is divided into seven sections: 1) this introduction, 2) our main findings, 3) two sets of recommendations, one for the media development community and another set for people starting a media outlet, 4) an “Innovation Index” listing practices that we found around the world, 5) a description of our methodology, 6) a review of practitioner reports we read, 7) write-ups describing 35 media outlets, based on interviews we conducted [...] We were inspired and encouraged by what we saw. All over the world, independent media outlets are innovating and overcoming obstacles. Globally, start-ups are demonstrating the drive to take risks for the sake of a good idea. The challenges facing these outlets—and the innovations employed to tackle them—broadly fall into four categories: editorial, business, distribution and security. Operating with agility, media start-ups are finding creative ways to gather and disseminate information. In India, Gram Vaani uses a mobile phone social network to connect the rural poor and circumvent legislative prohibitions on radio broadcasting. In Zimbabwe, The Source survives in the repressive media climate by focusing on business journalism. Oxpeckers in South Africa uses geomapping to report on rhino poaching. Crikey in Australia has built a successful business model based on soliciting tips and scandal from the same audience it reports on and Kenya’s African SkyCAM deploys drones to avoid negotiating with police for access to disaster zones [...] Instead of finding a clear model for what works, we found confirmation of many things we knew or suspected. Independent media outlets vary in size, ambition and model. Few have fully succeeded, while many do one thing well, which typically reflects the founder’s particular strength—usually in journalism or technology [...] Most media outlets we found are small, run by a few full-time staff supplemented by volunteers and freelancers, and supported by a combination of grants, donations and haphazard business endeavors. The leaders at most organizations we interviewed were motivated by a desire to produce high-quality journalism rather than meet particular financial or audience goals." (Executive summary, page 5-7)
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"The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its national member organisations must be the driving force for the future of journalism. Whether this notion is realistic or not, it has been analysed by Dr. Andreas K. Bittner, an online journalist from Germany, who provides a sharp and forward-loo
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king analysis in this report. With the help of 42 EFJ affiliates who have responded the survey, he has put together an analysis of the role journalists’ organisations and suggestions on how to be more pro-active, in particular in offering advice and training on new funding models for journalists." (Foreword)
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"The main purpose of the first Wage Indicator Global Wage Report – Gender Pay Gap in Journalism is to compare international and gender wage differentials for the journalist workforce. In addition to wages comparison, other important areas of journalists’ employment are studied, namely: (a) emplo
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yee benefits, (b) working hours, (c) satisfaction with various aspects of job, (d) and satisfaction with life as a whole. Some of the main findings include: (a) Median gross wages of journalists range from 458 international dollars ($) in Indonesia to 3705$ in Germany across the studied countries (b) In 14 out of 16 studied countries male wages dominate female wages. In fact, male wages exceed female wages in all 16 studied countries as soon as we account for the differences in characteristics between men and women, that is, calculate equivalent pay gaps for comparable men and women. (c) Equivalent pay gap (accounting for differences in characteristics), disadvantaging female journalists, is largest in Belgium (-25%), Indonesia (-22%) and the Netherlands (-20%); the smallest equivalent pay gaps are observed in the Czech Republic (-5%) and Brazil (-9%)." (Executive summany)
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"The SuBMoJour study has mapped journalistic startups in nine countries. It has created an online database detailing the business models of journalistic startups that are deemed sustainable (www.SuBMoJour.net) and this accompanying narrative report. The study supports research to date that online en
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vironments offer the necessary market characteristics for niche journalistic sites and content production. There is a rich and diverse set of media case studies in the database, all with their unique interpretation of serving communities or reportage. The study was carried out across 12 months with a team of international researchers. Where it was hard to evidence entirely new revenue sources, it was however possible to find new ways in which revenue sources have been combined or reconfigured. Most of the 69 case studies have diversified their income to include more than one revenue source. As such, there is potential innovation in new business models by way of combining revenue sources in new and interesting ways to make their sites profitable in the long term. Some sites, particularly those born to support products, which were very much of the net, have rebundled or recombined revenue streams in relatively innovative ways." (Conclusion, page 116)
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"Strong financial management skills are essential to promote high standards in international development organizations. Many non-finance people find numbers and financial techniques difficult, however, NGO managers and staff are responsible for sound financial management and without full understandi
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ng their programmes will be at best less effective, and at worst vulnerable to going unfunded. Poor communication about financial information, by both finance and non-finance people, often seems to cause a block. This book helps people speak and write financial information better, avoiding jargon, and preventing listeners from ‘switching off’. It explains why messages about finance may not be received as they were intended when working cross-culturally and outlines how information can be tailored to different audiences and how to improve understanding and collaboration between finance and non-finance people. It shoud be read by non-finance and finance managers and staff within non-profit organizations internationally, as well as other organizations." (Publisher description)
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"The aim of this study is to discuss the importance of gender in editorial leadership in African countries. Women in leading positions in the media industry work in a traditionally male-dominated area. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with five women on their work in media manag
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ement in Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria and Ethiopia in order to explore how a group of female media managers in a non-western setting manage both their gendered identity and their identity as media professionals." (Abstract)
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"While this report will examine some traditional, or “legacy,” business models for media, our focus is on the economic issues that news organizations—large and small, old and new—face with their digital ventures. This report focuses on news organizations that do original journalism, defined
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for our purposes as independent fact-finding undertaken for the benefit of communities of citizens. Those communities can be defined in the traditional way, by geography, but can also be brought together by topics or commonalities of interest. We also look into media companies that aggregate content and generate traffic in the process. We confine our report mostly to for-profit news enterprises. We recognize the outstanding work done by such national organizations as ProPublica and the Center for Investigative Reporting, as well as local sites like Voice of San Diego and MinnPost. But for the purposes of this study, we felt it was more valuable to spend our time examining organizations that rely as much as possible on the commercial market." (Introduction, page 3)
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"The capitalization gap for independent news media businesses in impact arguments to extend support to independent news media businesses. There are also convincing arguments that providing finance capital has a significant impact on independent media sustainability, as proven by recent successful pu
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blic-private initiatives that have mobilized funding to independent news media businesses around the world. This paper assesses the capitalization gap, identifies entry points for philanthropic capital and prepares a compelling case for developing existing initiatives and exploring new ones that can bridge the gap and channel necessary funding to the sector." (Abstract)
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"The adoption of a quality-management system by a media organization (radio, TV, newspaper, magazine, online or other) is strictly voluntary. It should be a strategic decision taken by senior management with the support of staff. The aim of such a system is to make sure that a media organization is
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managed in such a way as to meet the highest quality standards in the following areas: service to its users (audience / readership) and the general public; service to the society in which it operates, notably by promoting the open flow of information essential in a democracy; service to other important stakeholders, including staff, advertisers, subcontractors, shareholders, civil society associations, journalists' unions, public authorities." (Introduction, page 8).
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This study is based on the experience of the public-private development partnership for independent media, a joint initiative between the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Media Development Loan Fund, responsAbility Social Investments AG and Bank Vontobel.