"Este estudio es el primer estudio exhaustivo sobre el impacto que tienen emprendedores de medios digitales, los riesgos a los que se enfrentan, y si ha surgido un modelo de negocio viable para el periodismo digital independiente y de calidad. Para llevar a cabo esta investigación, SembraMedia, con
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el apoyo de Omidyar Network, conformó un equipo para estudiar 100 medios digitales de Argentina, Brasil, Colombia y México, 25 de cada país. Muchos de los investigadores eran emprendedores periodísticos, por lo que trajeron sus propias conexiones y una comprensión profunda de los medios en sus países. En entrevistas de dos horas a fundadores o directores, hicieron más de 130 preguntas sobre gestión, innovación, desafíos, oportunidades, tamaño y participación de la audiencia, e ingresos y gastos. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo ayudar a los fundadores de empresas de medios digitales a comprender mejor las tendencias, las amenazas y las mejores prácticas que los afectan. A su vez, diseñamos este informe para ayudar a los inversores, fundaciones y organizaciones periodísticas a apreciar el valor, la vulnerabilidad y el impacto de este ecosistema de medios de comunicación de rápido crecimiento. Aunque no compartiremos la información privada de cada medio, en este reporte se podrán ver los principales resultados y hallazgos." (Sumario)
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"For journalists promoting the free flow of information in repressive or restrictive media environments, the issue of financial sustainability is complex. Both media in exile (out-of-country news outlets feeding independent information into the country of origin) and news outlets in restrictive news
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environments (in-country providing counter-information) exist in flawed market situations and often rely on grant funding. This is the first academic study of the revenue streams of these media, providing scarce empirical data and a typology of funding structures of these media. This article examines three main revenue categories: grant funding, earned income and donations. The major factors influencing revenue streams compared to online media start-ups in open markets are discussed. The article finds significant barriers to revenue creation and identifies the need for alternative approaches, particularly partnerships, to promote economic resilience for media under threat." (Abstract)
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"Malaysiakini, an online news platform launched in 1999 in a country of continuous and pervasive media controls, has taken advantage of a precarious space allowing comparatively free journalism on the Internet. Its success in Malaysia is two-fold: First, it has increased demand for reliable and inde
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pendent news, along with support for human rights, open government, and free expression; second, it has built a viable business model that enables it to employ about 40 reporters, publish in four languages, and expand into video products and business news." (Executive summary)
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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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"According to this paper, many media businesses lack management skills and experience in developing effective business models. "Compounding this is a lack of media development assistance targeted to media managers, the expansion of economic constraints on media businesses, and a lack of access to in
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vestment capital", says the executive summary, and concludes that "this naiveté about the business side poses a significant risk to the sustainability of independent news media. At the same time that audiences are growing, they are also increasingly decoupled from advertising, traditionally the largest and most easily accessible form of revenue supporting news media. Whether a market is growing or declining, this trend threatens to undermine the ability of independent media to fund news reporting." (commbox)
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"Quality journalism is expensive to produce – so how will it survive as current sources of revenue shrink? Funding Journalism in the Digital Age not only explores the current challenges, but also provides a comprehensive look at business models and strategies that could sustain the news industry a
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s it makes the transition from print and broadcast distribution to primarily digital platforms. The authors bring widespread international journalism experience to provide a global perspective on how news organizations are evolving, investigating innovative commercial projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, South Korea, Singapore and elsewhere." (Publisher description)
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"Discussions on how to support sustainability of independent media generally focus on the political conditions, the legal framework and – especially in German development cooperation – on the quality of journalistic coverage. Nevertheless, economic factors are of equal importance, not only for p
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ure survival but also with respect to editorial independence and the resources available to enhance or guarantee the quality of media outlets. The German Forum Medien und Entwicklung (Media and Development) highlighted in its annual international Symposium, “Money Matters – How independent media manage to survive”, two dimensions marking economic sustainability: factors constituting a restricting or enabling media environment; factors supporting the business management of media in their endeavour to become self-sustainable." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"L’auteur examine comment, face aux nombreux handicaps qui freinent l'expansion de la presse, un journal peut survivre en pays en développement, malgré sa faiblesse financière et l'impréparation des journalistes — Les devoirs civiques qui sont impartis à la presse ne facilitent pas sa survi
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e — Cette thèse est expliquée à partir d'exemples pris en Turquie." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 2330, topic code 110.0, 140)
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"Aperçu bref sur les problèmes financiers et celui de la production du papier au Brésil." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 2110, topic code 140, 142)