"Drawing from a range of case studies of news and journalism startups, including Malaysiakini, Hong Kong Free Press, The News Lens of Taiwan, Thailand’s The Standard, Ciwei Gongshe of China, Indonesia’s IDN Media, Sabay of Cambodia and Frontier Myanmar, this book provides tips on how to launch a
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news media startup, how to find funding and how to sustain and scale the enterprise. Blending a theoretical approach with core business and newsgathering expertise, the author offers an engaging overview of contemporary entrepreneurial concepts and their vital relationship in finding new markets for journalism today." (Publisher description)
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"Presentamos este estudio como una contribución relevante para entender los profundos cambios y las tendencias del periodismo en América Latina, a partir de un análisis riguroso del paisaje mediático, así como del mapeo y caracterización de 1.521 medios nativos digitales verificados en 12 paí
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ses de la región. Se trata de una investigación única que permite conocer quiénes son, dónde se encuentran y en qué se diferencian estos medios digitales de naturaleza muy diversa: hiperlocales, feministas, sobre medio ambiente, de chequeo, narrativos, colaborativos, culturales, de control público, de temas sociales y políticos, entre otras causas y enfoques de agenda. Los hallazgos son a la vez desafiantes y alentadores. Los medios nativos digitales latinoamericanos muestran una gran vitalidad a pesar de condiciones adversas de distinto tipo. Es revelador que en el último año hayan surgido medios en Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia y Venezuela, países donde se han vivido incidentes en relación con la libertad de expresión, con casos de presiones, censura o vigilancia de los gobiernos sobre la labor periodística. Algo que distingue las búsquedas de los medios nativos digitales estudiados es que priorizan la calidad de la información y su foco está en aportar una visión propia, impulsar sociedades más democráticas y libres y construir relaciones firmes con sus audiencias. Son medios que en su mayoría hablan a una comunidad, pero también están dentro de ella." (Presentación, página 7-8)
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"As you might expect, there were regional differences among the digital news media in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, which we include in this report. But what struck us most as we reviewed the data were the similarities that emerged among these news organizations as they strive to cover
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their communities and build sustainable business models. Although most operate with relatively small budgets, they have an impact that punches above their weight when compared to the size of their teams and resources. Many specialize in investigative and data journalism, and more than 50% have won national or international awards for their work. Inflection Point International represents the deepest and broadest research ever done into the state of digital native media in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. As with so many things in our not-quite-post-pandemic world, what we discovered was a mix of alarming threats and inspiring breakthroughs." (Executive summary, page 7)
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"Como esperábamos, había diferencias regionales entre los medios digitales en África, el Sudeste Asiático y América Latina que incluimos en este informe. Pero lo que más nos llamó la atención cuando revisábamos los datos eran las similitudes que emergían entre estas organizaciones de notic
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ias a medida que intentaban cubrir sus comunidades y construir modelos de negocio sustentables. Aunque la mayoría cuenta con presupuestos bastante reducidos, estos medios tienen un impacto sobresaliente comparado con el tamaño de sus equipos y recursos. Muchos se especializan en periodismo de investigación y de datos, y más del 50% ha ganado premios nacionales o internacionales por su trabajo. Punto de Inflexión 2021 representa la investigación más exhaustiva y profunda realizada sobre el estado de los medios nativos digitales en América Latina, el Sudeste Asiático y África. Como muchas de las cosas que hemos aprendido en nuestro mundo durante la pandemia, descubrimos una mezcla de amenazas alarmantes y, al mismo tiempo, logros inspiradores." (Resumen ejecutive, página 6)
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"Como era de se esperar, houve diferenças regionais entre os veículos jornalísticos digitais na África, Sudeste Asiático e América Latina que incluímos neste relatório. Mas o que mais nos impressionou ao analisarmos os dados foram as semelhanças que surgiram entre essas organizações jorna
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lísticas ao se esforçarem para cobrir suas comunidades e construir modelos de negócios sustentáveis. Embora a maioria opere com orçamentos relativamente reduzidos, elas têm um impacto que excede seu peso em comparação ao tamanho de suas equipes e recursos. Muitas delas são especializadas em jornalismo investigativo e de dados, e mais de 50% já ganharam prêmios nacionais ou internacionais por seu trabalho. Este estudo, Ponto de Inflexão Internacional, representa a mais profunda e ampla pesquisa já feita sobre o estado da mídia nativa digital na América Latina, Sudeste Asiático e África. Como acontece com tantas coisas em nosso mundo não-quase-pós-pandêmico, o que descobrimos foi uma combinação de ameaças alarmantes e descobertas inspiradoras." (Resumo executivo, pagina 6)
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"Esta guía reúne y explica las herramientas básicas para la gestión de las empresas periodísticas. En el ecosistema mediático, encontramos medios nativos digitales de diferente tamaño, antigüedad, y con equipos diversos. Una de las claves hacia la sostenibilidad de los medios es la gestión
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de esos equipos y el ejercicio del liderazgo. Sin embargo, es necesario, primero, sentar las bases de la organización, para luego avanzar hacia prácticas más complejas y también necesarias. Cuando nos referimos a sentar las bases de la organización, hablamos de herramientas simples y al alcance de todos que ordenan la información y el saber que circula en la entidad. Los protocolos son las herramientas por excelencia para ello. En esta guía compartimos recomendaciones para establecer protocolos en torno a cinco puntos fundamentales para toda organización: roles: cada persona en el equipo tiene una función que debe ser definida y consensuada; procesos: el trabajo sigue un flujo que debe analizarse y mejorarse cuando sea necesario; estructura: los roles y los procesos se entrelazan en un esquema que hay que explicitar; incorporaciones: cuando el equipo crece, es necesario ordenar el proceso; desvinculaciones: cuando se decide que una persona debe irse del equipo, los procesos ayudan a todos los involucrados a transitar del mejor modo esta etapa." (Introducción)
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"Esta guía reúne y explica las herramientas básicas para la gestión de las empresas periodísticas. En el ecosistema mediático, encontramos medios nativos digitales de diferente tamaño, antigüedad, y con equipos diversos. Una de las claves hacia la sostenibilidad de los medios es la gestión
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de esos equipos y el ejercicio del liderazgo. Sin embargo, es necesario, primero, sentar las bases de la organización, para luego avanzar hacia prácticas más complejas y también necesarias. Cuando nos referimos a sentar las bases de la organización, hablamos de herramientas simples y al alcance de todos que ordenan la información y el saber que circula en la entidad. Los protocolos son las herramientas por excelencia para ello. En esta guía compartimos recomendaciones para establecer protocolos en torno a cinco puntos fundamentales para toda organización: roles: cada persona en el equipo tiene una función que debe ser definida y consensuada; procesos: el trabajo sigue un flujo que debe analizarse y mejorarse cuando sea necesario; estructura: los roles y los procesos se entrelazan en un esquema que hay que explicitar; incorporaciones: cuando el equipo crece, es necesario ordenar el proceso; desvinculaciones: cuando se decide que una persona debe irse del equipo, los procesos ayudan a todos los involucrados a transitar del mejor modo esta etapa." (Introducción)
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"This guide compiles and explains the basic tools for managing journalism businesses. In the media ecosystem, there are digital native media outlets of different sizes and ages, with different types of teams. Two of the keys to sustaining those media outlets are team management and leadership. Howev
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er, before looking at these components, it is important to first build your organization on a strong organizational foundation. Only then can you move on to more difficult and necessary aspects of management. When we refer to 'building the foundation of the organization,' we are talking about simple tools, available for everyone, that organize information within the organization. Establishing protocols is the best way to achieve this organization. In this guide, we share recommendations to develop protocols for five essential aspects of your organization: roles: Each person on the staff has a role that should be clearly defined and agreed upon; processes: Workflows should be analyzed and improved when necessary; structure: Roles and processes intertwine in a scheme that should be explicit; recruitment: When the team grows, it is important to organize the process for incorporating new staff; dismissals: When it is decided that someone has to leave the team, established processes help everyone involved to more effectively handle the transition." (Introduction)
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"In early 2020 hromadske reached a crisis point. Despite many successes achieved over 7 years of existence the organization was struggling motivation was low, staff turnover was high, previously set goals seemed irrelevant or unrealistic. The path forward was unclear. From March to September 2020 hr
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omadske embarked on a journey to recreate its organizational structure, operations, planning and team management, the revenue model … basically everything related to setting and realizing goals. Such transformations are rare in the media industry. Big changes in how things are done can be perceived as an admission of past mistakes or failures something that doesn’t sit well for many managers in our image conscious industry. More importantly, media transformations over focus on the visible part the journalism. But problems in editorial are often a symptom of deeper issues. hromadske decided to “pop the hood” and dig into the organization’s engine starting from the basics. The present document aims to provide a preliminary template for other media contemplating radical change, that we hope will be further developed by other media organizations going through similar issues. It lays out the challenges we faced, what we did to resolve them, and the lessons we learned along the way. We hope it will provide some insights and guidance." (Page 1)
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"This media viability handbook is unique in that it has been written by media startups themselves and presents the learnings of 21 digital pioneers including the Philippines' Rappler, Egypt's Mada Masr and Animal Politico in Mexico. The pages are filled with tips and information these media startups
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from 18 different countries wished they had when they first started out. It includes lessons learned, advice for successful growth and perhaps most importantly, how to sustain a startup's success. The handbook presents a three-step approach: the start phase, growth phase and the media viability phase. It highlights an approach that focuses not only on revenue streams — an area that many startups put too much emphasis on — but aspects of the business such as human resources and audience engagement, which are crucial for achieving media viability. Each chapter of the handbook explores one of the three steps in depth. In the first chapter, we hear from six startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). They share their experiences of turning an idea into a reality and share the knowledge they learned during the start phase focusing on revenue streams, audience engagement, collaboration and donors' motives. In chapter two, seven startups from the Asia region dive into structure and growth. There is a particular focus on diversifying revenue streams, staffing and internal organization, identifying a core mission and capitalizing on your strengths. Chapter three features eight startups from Latin American countries who impart their knowledge on sustaining the success they have achieved. It rounds up the important lessons that digital media entrepreneurs should carry with them at all times. Community building, producing a quality product and involving the whole team in decision making processes are key." (Publisher description)
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"The main aim of the present study is to assess the status quo and the influencing factors of media viability in developing countries and economies in transition. Accordingly, three general research questions have been formulated: 1. Which factors determine the viability of alternative online news m
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edia organizations in developing countries and economies in transition? 2. What are the transnational similarities and differences for media viability of alternative news media organizations? 3. How are financial sustainability, editorial independence, and journalistic quality interrelated in the context of media viability of alternative online news media organizations?" (Page 21)
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"Over the past years, a range of different databases have been constructed, and research efforts have been made to find the key to making digital news ventures successful. Many of them have searched for best practices, or a secret recipe for a business model that would make the news business economi
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cally sustainable in a digital era. James Breiner has taken on the tedious task of analyzing 20 media startup databases in search of patterns and major lessons learned." (Page xxxii)
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"Entrepreneurship and innovation are currently high on the media industry agenda, but focus has so far been mostly on the economic sustainability of new ventures. Considering the repressive political climate in Egypt, Naomi Sakr explores the tension between economic growth and the ethical, democrati
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c practices of Egyptian startups. The study highlights, among other things, the temporal dimensions of sustainability, where focus on social sustainability can be seen as investment in stakeholder relationships that create long term economic returns." (Page xxxii)
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"This guide is intended both for new product managers and those who want to develop into product leadership roles as well as media executives and managers who want to gain an understanding of the product management function and how it can benefit their organizations [...] This guide is structured ar
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ound a product lifecycle and provides an overview of the activities that take place during each phase, accompanied by inline links and references to more detailed explanations and resources at the end of the document." (Page 4)
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"The main finding of this study is that digital media entrepreneurs are deeply transforming the way that journalism is conducted and consumed in Latin America. They are not just producing news — they are generators of change, promoting better laws, defending human rights, exposing corruption, and
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fighting abuses of power. They are driven to produce independent news in countries that are highly politically polarized — and some of them are paying a high price for it [...] Nearly half the journalists interviewed for this study reported threats and physical attacks in response to their coverage. More than 20% of the founders and directors we interviewed admitted that they avoided covering certain topics, people, and institutions because of threats and intimidation. Others face punitive lawsuits, cyber-attacks, never-ending audits, and the loss of advertising revenues in retaliation for their coverage. Digital natives in Latin America have an even more important role to play than their counterparts in the over-saturated media markets of the developed world. News ownership is highly concentrated in these countries, and government advertising is frequently used to reward compliant media outlets. Even in the face of these legal, financial, and physical threats, entrepreneurial journalists are building sustainable businesses around quality journalism. The advent of social media and easy-to-use web design tools has made it possible to launch a digital media venture almost entirely on sweat equity. More than 70% of the ventures in this study started with less than $10,000, and more than 10% of those now bring in at least a half million dollars a year in revenues. After analyzing data on traffic, finances, revenue sources, staffing, and years in business, we identified four distinct tiers of business development. Diversified revenue was key to success, especially in the mid tiers, and we found more than 15 distinct revenue sources, including events, training, membership, crowdfunding, and native advertising. More than 65% reported they were earning revenue in at least three ways. In the top tier, where audiences reach more than 20 million visits per month, advertising is the top revenue source, but not the only one. In the mid ranges, there is no dominant business model and diversified revenue sources that combine advertising with audience-driven sources, such as events and crowdfunding, are crucial for sustainability. When we analyzed the lower tiers, we found lots of opportunities for improvement. Despite their dedication to quality journalism, more than 30% brought in less than $10,000 in total revenues in 2016. Broadly speaking, we found two paths to growing these businesses: building audience to drive traffic and advertising, or leveraging the loyalty of the audience to inspire micro-donations and the 15 other ways they are making money." (Executive summary, pages 6-8)
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"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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"In this report, we analyse six examples of digital journalism start-ups developing new editorial priorities, distribution strategies, and funding models for an increasingly digital Indian media environment. After years of slow growth, internet use and digital advertising has grown very rapidly in I
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ndia in recent years, powered especially by the spread of mobile internet use, and double-digit growth in both the number of users and which in advertising is expected to continue. India now has the second-largest number of internet users in the world and rapid growth in internet use and digital advertising is seen by many as the biggest market opportunity outside China since the internet took off in the United States in the 1990s. The start-ups we examine here are examples of how Indian journalists, technologists, and entrepreneurs are working to develop different contentbased (the Quint, Scroll), aggregation-based (InShorts, DailyHunt), or nonprofit (The Wire, Khabar Laharirya) models for doing journalism fit for a digital India." (Executive summary)
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"Why are organisations such as Vice and BuzzFeed investing in journalism and why are pedigree journalists joining them? Why are news organisations making journalists redundant but recruiting technologists? Why does everyone seem to be embracing native advertising? Why are some news organisations mor
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e innovative than others? Drawing on extensive first-hand research this book explains how different international media organisations approach digital news and pinpoints the common organisational factors that help build their success." (Publisher description)
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"El panorama de medios digitales en América Latina es sumamente diverso. Existen numerosas apuestas y distintos modelos de periodismo, pero se identifican claramente al menos tres retos comunes a todos los medios digitales de la región:
1. Financiamiento. Los medios digitales tienen como principal
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reto y preocupación desarrollar modelos de negocio que vayan más allá de la venta de pauta publicitaria y les permita, si no la rentabilidad, al menos la sostenibilidad del proyecto en los próximos años. La mayoría de los medios que realizan periodismo de investigación recibe apoyo o financiamiento de donantes internacionales y ha generado diversas estrategias de fondeo colectivo. Sin embargo, se percibe una necesidad importante por diversificar las entradas de recursos, para no depender exclusivamente de un donante, que condicione la existencia del medio.
2. Potencial digital. Existe un área de oportunidad enorme para todos los medios digitales para experimentar con nuevos formatos, herramientas y hacer mayor uso de la tecnología con fines periodísticos. Hasta inicios de 2015, son pocos los medios nativos digitales que tienen portales 100% responsivos, aún cuando el flujo de lectores desde dispositivos móviles es cada vez mayor y las tendencias indican que seguirá creciendo. Se percibe escasa o nula experimentación con tecnologías móviles, que permitan la geolocalización de noticias o la entrega personalizada de información. Salvo Soy502 y Animal Político, tampoco se han identificado el uso estratégico de drones o herramientas similares de video y recopilación de información en marchas o manifestaciones.
3. Interacción y creación de comunidades. La mayoría de los medios sigue pensando solamente en capturar lectores, si bien se identifica cierta tendencia a crear audiencias participativas y gestionar comunidades. El medio que ha llevado esto a un nivel de experimentación interesante es La Silla Vacía, con su apuesta de crear una red social dentro de su misma plataforma “La Silla Llena”, en donde líderes de opinión, políticos y lectores, pueden crear foros de discusión, debates y generar una dinámica propia de intercambio. Esto requiere, sin embargo, dedicación y entendimiento de las lógicas digitales, y de estar dispuesto a entablar conversaciones horizontales entre audiencias y periodistas.
En conclusión, puede afirmarse que los medios nativos digitales que realizan periodismo en América Latina están entendiendo poco a poco la lógica digital. Es decir: desarrollar y publicar contenido periodístico en internet permite no sólo reducir costos de impresión y distribución, sino generar otro tipo de dinámicas que le son útiles a los medios, como elevar el debate público, crear comunidades activas y generar mayor incidencia a partir de información periodística de calidad." (Conclusión)
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