"Investigative journalism is expensive. Partnerships and grants can help but can also introduce conditions or stall proceedings. Could crowdfunding, where audience members donate to support an investigation, offer an alternative? “Crowdfunding serves as a crucial revenue source in investigative jo
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urnalism, enabling funding for stories that might otherwise remain uncovered,” says Tanja Aitamurto, the author of “Crowdfunding for Journalism” and an assistant professor in communication at the University of Illinois Chicago. “These crowdfunded stories often emerge outside mainstream media and large newsrooms, contributing significantly to journalism by diversifying producers and voices.” To explore the opportunities and challenges of crowdfunding investigations, GIJN spoke with three newsrooms pioneering the model: Noteworthy in Ireland, a community-led newsroom where readers pitch and fund investigation proposals, and Portuguese investigative podcast Fumaça and Brazil’s Agência Pública, which both operate membership models and have experimented with crowdfunding campaigns." (Introduction)
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"This playbook is designed for media managers and journalists who are looking to monetise their social media channels and diversify their income — particularly in countries where English is not the predominant language. It will provide you with practical strategies and tips for creating and moneti
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sing content on social media, as well as insights into the unique challenges and opportunities that come with operating in a non-English speaking environment. Whether you’re a seasoned media professional or a novice just starting out, this book is the perfect guide to help you navigate the complex world of social media monetisation and succeed in the digital age." (Introduction, page 7)
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"This article analyzes how patronage crowdfunding is becoming a central part of the model for building a radio station. Implementing this model requires mobilizing listeners to engage in the direct, long-term financial support of a station. The analysis conducted in this article is based on a case s
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tudy of Radio 357—an Internet radio station in Poland funded through digital patronage since 2020. The success of this station suggests that the development of crowdfunding has created a space for new types of participatory engagement by audiences. Not only are we experiencing a reduction in the distance between presenters and listeners alongside increased connectivity between members of the audience but we are also seeing the intervention of patrons in shaping the station in terms of how, what, and when it broadcasts." (Abstract)
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"The Hindu Group (THG), a 143-year-old old legacy news brand, dove into subscriptions in 2019. The Hindu approached subscriptions with the mindset of revenue optimisation while being agnostic to the source." (Summary)
"This study examines to what extent Arab audiences are willing to support these strategies, and what factors influence their willingness to pay (WTP) for online news, using a survey of 530 adults. The study found most of the public is not willing to pay for online newspapers, but are willing to pay
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for entertainment services. Most of them are not subscribing to printed or online newspapers. They do not have a real intent to help the newspapers in their digital transformation. Most of the public did not experience the paywall yet. Age and income influence the likelihood of paying for online news and to a lesser extent, gender and education. Age and income were predictors for WTP for entertainment services. Age and education were predictors for using online sources." (Abstract)
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"With 30 million readers, and paying digital subscribers surging past 700,000, Clarín has the distinction of having the largest number of paid digital users for any news publisher in Latin America." (Introduction)
"This guide helps media managers identify and choose the most relevant business models and practices that fit with their missions and operating conditions. It provides a common language around core concepts of media business functions and provides links to further resources. It offers practical, str
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aightforward guidance on growing audiences and diversifying revenue sources. The guide is written through the lens of news media and is written by media managers experienced in many different contexts. It includes topical overviews, case studies, interviews, guest essays, and practical hands-on tools." (Page 6)
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"What’s working to generate revenue and sustain journalism collaborations, beyond philanthropy? To answer this question, the Center for Cooperative Media, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Solutions Journalism Network conducted a survey, interviewed collaborative project managers, funde
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rs and ecosystem support staff from around the country, and ultimately identified eight innovative examples of collaborative revenue experiments in progress to share with you. These experiments range from new reader revenue streams to newsletter sponsorships, monetizing events and sharing back-office services." (About this report)
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"This study provides encouraging evidence that digital audience revenue programmes – donation drives, crowdfundings, membership schemes or subscriptions – may be a viable option for independent media outlets operating in challenging political environments. Responses from 19 outlets operating in
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Central and Eastern Europe and the Global South show that, while there is plenty of interference with independent media by state and political actors, there is little interference aimed at audience revenue programmes of independent newsrooms. Examination of the ownership structures and business setups of the outlets participating in the study shows how independent media is not necessarily just profit-driven in CEE and the Global South. Only half of the outlets in the cohort were fully for-profit and many of them had newsroom members as majority owners. While paywalls are a foregone conclusion in developed countries, for the media outlets in challenging environments included in this study, paywalls are very much up for debate. While all newsrooms in the project collect some form of audience revenue, only 37% had paywalls in place. Most outlets without paywalls worry about limiting the impact of their journalism, and this is why they are reluctant to charge for exclusive content. While their reservations may be perfectly legitimate, financially speaking paywalls work well for those who implement them. Outlets with active paywalls reported a higher share of audience revenue on average than those who do not have them." (Conclusions, page 56)
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"For digital-first news outlets in Latin America, lessons learned from reader-funding experiments are being transformed into highly tailored membership programmes that offer a chance at a more sustainable future. Independent, mission-driven or subject-specific news sites, in particular, are leading
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the way, converting close relationships with audiences into funding through editorially-linked, labour-intensive initiatives. While membership is having a moment in the Global North too, building an audience-funded organisation has been on the agenda for some time for several outlets in Latin America. Colombian politics news site La Silla Vacía and Brazilian investigative journalism agency Agência Pública launched membership programmes after running crowdfunding campaigns since 2012 and 2013. Tiempo Argentino’s rebirth as a member-funded title in 2016 saved journalists’ jobs at a time of mass layoffs and secured a loyal audience in the face of declining print circulation. Elsewhere, Peru's Ojo Público, El Salvador's El Faro, Chile’s investigative journalism outlet CIPER and La No Ficción in Colombia have all built different membership or reader donation programmes. This piece looks into some of the things these news organisations have learned along the way." (Introduction)
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"This study uses surveys with readers of entrepreneurial news startups in seven Latin American countries to examine their motivations for donating to journalism. Using the donor–organization relationship from public relations scholarship as a framework, this study showed content, independent/objec
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tive journalism, and community were main motivating factors for donating. A lack of priority, and techno- and commercial-related concerns were reasons why readers did not donate. Professional and theoretical implications are discussed." (Abstract)
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"FIPP and paywall market leaders CeleraOne have carried out a survey to gauge the global state of affairs when it comes to digital subscription offerings by leading media companies in different countries. The results gathered from 95 publishers in 11 nations – Argentina, Canada, Finland, France, G
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ermany, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. - give an important insight into how paywalls and subscribers are evolving. The benchmark report arrives at a pivotal moment in the evolution of paywall strategies. While Covid-19 has resulted in a wave of digital subscriptions as the public went looking for information about the crisis, the question is whether the post-Covid period will have the opposite effect. “We are entering an interesting period because most of the people who subscribed did so because they needed firsthand information about Covid in their local area, or just needed entertainment in times of social distancing,” says York Walterscheid, Managing Director of CeleraOne. “The question now becomes, how do you keep such a good conversion rate? Most of the publishers need to be very careful in saying: ‘My strategy worked out and I can now rest on my laurels.’ It is crucial for publishers to look at their post-Covid strategy now." (Introduction, page 4-5)
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"This report is meant to share the experiences and lessons of local media practitioners globally, and to build a community for networking and support. It’s about telling their story in their own voice – and helping all involved learn from one another. By talking to both new digital start-ups and
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traditional media in transition, this report identifies how media builders in different circumstances understand and meet the challenges they face. Comparing and contrasting experiences from different parts of the world provides both lessons that can be copied as well as warnings about the need to understand how different regional and national conditions impact success. From there, the report draws practical recommendations for news media leaders, for media support organizations, and for the IPI global network." (Introduction, page 4)
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"This in-depth study explores some of the most popular tactics being used by news and other media organizations to diversify their revenue streams and generate income through a variety of different means. It does this by deep dives into subscriptions, paywalls, advertising, content and other establi
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shed and emerging ideas. The report is a fully rewritten and fully revised update of my 2019 paper of the same name. Like its predecessor, it’s designed to be easy to digest and packed with a wealth of case studies. These insights will provide a mixture of inspiration — and affirmation — for publishers and content creators around the world, as they continue to look at how to reduce their dependence on advertising income, and identify fresh, diverse, opportunities to generate income across a variety of verticals." (Abstract)
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"The paper explores what news companies with reader revenue models are doing through structured interviews with 26 media executives from 15 news organisations. Some of these outlets run digital subscriptions. Others have reader revenue models with a less transactional value proposition. Most of them
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are based in Spain and the United Kingdom. Some are based in other European countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Italy and France. The paper doesn’t analyze either the virtues of different pay models or the price of the offerings of every particular newspaper. Its main goal is to explain the strategies news outlets are applying to deal with the profound changes required by a subscription business in the hope that some could be used by other news organisations elsewhere." (https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk)
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"The aim of this proposal is to present the evolution of the digital native media in Spain in order to compare their current situation with European success stories. For that purpose, we have conducted a comparative case study between three highlighted Spanish digital native news outlets and three f
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rom other European countries. The results show a progressive shift towards a member-funded model, while news outlets try to reduce their dependence on advertising. However, the three European natives seem to be more advanced compared to the Spanish cases as these remain still dependent on advertising revenues to stand upright. Furthermore, two models of participation stand out: the user community and, in particular, the model of collaboration networks. Nevertheless, the study reveals how the analyzed European news outlets are changing the role of the reader through innovative forms of participatory interactivity." (Abstract)
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"Die vorliegende Studie stellt Nutzerinnen und Nutzer in den Mittelpunkt. Sie fragt sowohl nach den Gründen für fehlende Zahlungsbereitschaft als auch danach, warum und wofür gezahlt wird. Auch wenn die Grundtendenz einer stark ausgeprägten Gratismentalität gegenüber digitaljournalistischen In
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halten nicht überrascht, zeigt sich ein beim Musik- und Serienkonsum über die letzten Jahre erlerntes Verhalten: Nutzerinnen und Nutzer wünschen sich eine Art Netflix oder Spotify für Journalismus – zu vergleichbaren Preis- und Vertragsbedingungen. Im Sinne einer nutzerzentrierten Ausgestaltung von Paid-Content-Angeboten eröffnen die Autoren innovative Blickwinkel auf neuartige Plattformmodelle und geben empirisch basierte Handlungsempfehlungen mit Relevanz sowohl für die Wissenschaft als auch für die Medienpraxis. Die mangelnde intrinsische Motivation zur Zahlung nimmt Medienunternehmerinnen und -unternehmer in die Pflicht – egal, ob sie bereits am Markt etabliert sind oder neu gründen. Die vorliegende Studie bietet dazu eine Fülle von Ansatzpunkten." (Vorwort, Seite 5)
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"Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, el 57% de los lectores de medios digitales en Argentina, Brazil, Colombia y Mexico ha aumentado su consumo de noticias. El 90% de los consumidores está accediendo a las noticias digitales por lo menos dos veces a la semana y el 78% por lo menos una vez al día. Las
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plataformas digitales ahora representan más de la mitad (53%) de todos los contenidos de noticias a los que se accede, lo que evidencia la creciente expansión de las plataformas digitales como las principales fuentes de noticias e información. En promedio, el 13% de los consumidores encuestados paga actualmente por lo menos por una suscripción o servicio de noticias. Aunque a primera vista modestas, estas cifras muestran que la predisposición a pagar por noticias digitales entre los consumidores es mayor que en algunos otros países, incluidos mercados establecidos como el Reino Unido (8%) y Alemania (10%) y no está muy lejos de los EE. UU. (20%). Para los consumidores que actualmente están suscriptos, dos de los factores más importantes a la hora de pagar son la capacidad de proporcionar un contenido de alta calidad (36%) y la credibilidad del medio de comunicación como fuente de información seria y fiable (34%). Además, la metodología MaxDiff encontró que para todos los encuestados, incluidos los que no pagan actualmente por las noticias, la independencia de los medios de comunicación de los poderes de turno se encuentra entre los factores más importantes." (Principales hallazgos, página 10-12)
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"Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, wie etablierte Medienunternehmen und journalistische Neugründungen in Deutschland nutzerseitige Zahlungsbereitschaft für digitaljournalistische Inhalte besser identifizieren, fördern und abschöpfen können. Auf Grundlage einer für die deutsche Online-Bevölke
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rung repräsentativen Befragung mit rund 6.000 Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmern und acht vertiefenden Gruppendiskussionen gelangt die Studie zu folgenden Kernergebnissen: 1. Nutzerinnen und Nutzer zahlen am liebsten für „harten“ Journalismus [...] 2. Nutzerinnen und Nutzer wünschen sich Orientierungshilfe im Inhalte-Dschungel [...] 3. Digitaler Journalismus wird (immer noch) häufig als „Katze im Sack“ wahrgenommen [...] 4. Digitaler Journalismus ist Nutzerinnen und Nutzern zu teuer [...] 5. Nutzerinnen und Nutzer sollten in der Lage sein, vertrauenswürdigen und demokratisch wertvollen Journalismus erkennen zu können." (Executive Summary: Kernergebnisse)
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