Project OASIS: A Research Project on the Trends, Impact and Sustainability of Independent Digital Native Media in More Than 40 Countries in Europe
SembraMedia;European Journalism Centre;International Media Support (IMS);Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD);Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC);Google News Initiative (GNI) (2023), 56 pp.
"Despite the political, economic and linguistic differences that characterise the 40+ countries where we conducted this research, the 540 digital native media organisations featured in our Project Oasis directory face many common challenges and opportunities. Among our key findings:
They use social media to target younger audiences, send news updates via Telegram to evade censorship, and train citizen journalists to reach underserved communities.
More than 85% said society and human rights issues are key areas of their coverage, including topics related to migration, refugees, gender and feminism.
More than 50% dedicate resources to investigative journalism, and many form alliances to cover stories across borders.
More than 58% of the media founders featured in this report are women. They are highly collaborative, and most have two or more co-founders.œMedia founded by teams that include both men and women reported the highest revenues, with an average of €509,740 per year.
Those that invest in business development build more sustainable organisations. Media outlets that have at least one employee dedicated to revenue generation reported average annual revenue six times higher than those without people in these roles: €598,539 compared to .95,629.
More than half the media in this study are non-profit organisations, and many of the for-profit ventures invest more in journalism than building profits.
Among non-profit media, the primary revenue sources are grants, individual donations and membership (in that order). Among for-profits, the top sources are: advertising, website subscriptions and grants.
Revenue diversity is key, but more sources do not correlate to greater success. Developing two to six sources of revenue appears to be optimal for sustainability and independence.
Digital native media outlets range from small start-ups run by volunteers dedicated to their communities, to highly profitable multi-platform operations that attract millions of page views every month and earn millions of euros a year." (Executive summary, page 4-5)
They use social media to target younger audiences, send news updates via Telegram to evade censorship, and train citizen journalists to reach underserved communities.
More than 85% said society and human rights issues are key areas of their coverage, including topics related to migration, refugees, gender and feminism.
More than 50% dedicate resources to investigative journalism, and many form alliances to cover stories across borders.
More than 58% of the media founders featured in this report are women. They are highly collaborative, and most have two or more co-founders.œMedia founded by teams that include both men and women reported the highest revenues, with an average of €509,740 per year.
Those that invest in business development build more sustainable organisations. Media outlets that have at least one employee dedicated to revenue generation reported average annual revenue six times higher than those without people in these roles: €598,539 compared to .95,629.
More than half the media in this study are non-profit organisations, and many of the for-profit ventures invest more in journalism than building profits.
Among non-profit media, the primary revenue sources are grants, individual donations and membership (in that order). Among for-profits, the top sources are: advertising, website subscriptions and grants.
Revenue diversity is key, but more sources do not correlate to greater success. Developing two to six sources of revenue appears to be optimal for sustainability and independence.
Digital native media outlets range from small start-ups run by volunteers dedicated to their communities, to highly profitable multi-platform operations that attract millions of page views every month and earn millions of euros a year." (Executive summary, page 4-5)
INTRODUCTION, 7
Project Oasis: Purpose and objectives -- Who will benefit from reading this report -- Country summaries focus on local markets
SECTION 1: DIGITAL NATIVE MEDIA TEAMS, 10
Media with dedicated sales staff report higher revenue -- Women media founders breaking the glass ceiling -- Women-led media tackle serious social issues -- Digital native media with both male and female founders earn more revenue -- Outlets with women founders feature more transparency policies -- The relationship between transparency and annual revenue
SECTION 2: BUILDING BUSINESS MODELS, 17
Media outlets that cover national and international news reported the highest revenues -- Social media platforms drive revenue for top earners -- How digital native media earn revenue -- The relationship between sources of revenue and publishing platforms -- The higher the page views, the higher the annual revenue -- How annual revenue correlates to the diversification of revenue sources -- How digital media build reader revenue -- Media outlets that publish in English tend to have higher revenue -- Digital native media often publish information in more than one language -- Translating content into English to reach a global audience
SECTION 3: WHY JOURNALISTS START DIGITAL MEDIA ORGANISATIONS, 31
Creating media outlets based on their own values, ideas and identity -- Countering misleading marketing messages -- Media leaders motivated by media capture -- Establishing media in exile to counteract restrictions and provide crucial information -- Political polarisation is boosting demand for independent journalism -- Motivated by concentrated media ownership -- Digital native media filling information gaps and news deserts -- Challenges and opportunities in times of crisis
SECTION 4: INNOVATIVE NEWS COVERAGE, 46
Society and human rights issues stand out as the most-covered topics -- More than half of digital native media do investigative journalism -- Declines in website page views drive digital media to social platforms -- Messaging platforms increasingly popular for sharing news -- Media in Spain and Montenegro reported using Signal, and in Serbia and Switzerland, we found media using SMS-based text messaging to share content -- Innovative journalism techniques build audience engagement -- The potential of slow journalism -- Covering niche topics helps build sustainable organisations -- Digital media use community-driven journalism to build engaged audiences
SECTION 5: MOST DIGITAL NATIVE MEDIA WERE FOUNDED IN THE LAST DECADE, 56
When media were formed as non-profit vs for-profit organisations -- Digital native media appeared in Europe more than 25 years ago
Project Oasis: Purpose and objectives -- Who will benefit from reading this report -- Country summaries focus on local markets
SECTION 1: DIGITAL NATIVE MEDIA TEAMS, 10
Media with dedicated sales staff report higher revenue -- Women media founders breaking the glass ceiling -- Women-led media tackle serious social issues -- Digital native media with both male and female founders earn more revenue -- Outlets with women founders feature more transparency policies -- The relationship between transparency and annual revenue
SECTION 2: BUILDING BUSINESS MODELS, 17
Media outlets that cover national and international news reported the highest revenues -- Social media platforms drive revenue for top earners -- How digital native media earn revenue -- The relationship between sources of revenue and publishing platforms -- The higher the page views, the higher the annual revenue -- How annual revenue correlates to the diversification of revenue sources -- How digital media build reader revenue -- Media outlets that publish in English tend to have higher revenue -- Digital native media often publish information in more than one language -- Translating content into English to reach a global audience
SECTION 3: WHY JOURNALISTS START DIGITAL MEDIA ORGANISATIONS, 31
Creating media outlets based on their own values, ideas and identity -- Countering misleading marketing messages -- Media leaders motivated by media capture -- Establishing media in exile to counteract restrictions and provide crucial information -- Political polarisation is boosting demand for independent journalism -- Motivated by concentrated media ownership -- Digital native media filling information gaps and news deserts -- Challenges and opportunities in times of crisis
SECTION 4: INNOVATIVE NEWS COVERAGE, 46
Society and human rights issues stand out as the most-covered topics -- More than half of digital native media do investigative journalism -- Declines in website page views drive digital media to social platforms -- Messaging platforms increasingly popular for sharing news -- Media in Spain and Montenegro reported using Signal, and in Serbia and Switzerland, we found media using SMS-based text messaging to share content -- Innovative journalism techniques build audience engagement -- The potential of slow journalism -- Covering niche topics helps build sustainable organisations -- Digital media use community-driven journalism to build engaged audiences
SECTION 5: MOST DIGITAL NATIVE MEDIA WERE FOUNDED IN THE LAST DECADE, 56
When media were formed as non-profit vs for-profit organisations -- Digital native media appeared in Europe more than 25 years ago
