Business infrastructure, not business models

“It’s time to stop talking about a new business model — because there is no new business model that will magically make journalism financially sustainable.”

It doesn’t matter if your news organization is a for-profit, nonprofit, collaborative, or cooperative: One unavoidable fact is that all news organizations must generate enough revenue to be sustainable. It’s time to stop talking about a new business model — because there is no new business model that will magically make journalism financially sustainable.

In 2022, successful news organizations of all varieties will stop talking about business models. Instead, there will be a focus on building up business infrastructure — to support journalism products that people will pay for and to improve their operational excellence. Three areas of focus:

Build products and not models: It’s no secret that traditional revenue sources in journalism are becoming less dependable. There’s an urgent need for news organizations to diversify those sources. While philanthropy and major gifts from high net-worth donors are up, it’s not a long-term strategy and should be treated as catalytic investment to help grow the organization.

For example, The Markup, a nonprofit that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change society, developed Blacklight, a custom tool that scans how websites you visit track your every digital move. It’s services like Blacklight that can create new value for customers that goes beyond journalism. In 2022, more news organizations will focus on developing revenue-generating products and services that are not solely dependent on donor dollars or reader revenue.

Journalism with an equality lens: Let’s face it. Most mainstream journalism is created through a white lens. From reporting on a “hot food trend” called boba tea to an exposé on employment bias against African-American candidates, mainstream news organizations have a tendency to report news from communities of color as exotic or something new. Trust me, Asians already know boba tea is a thing, and Blacks won’t be shocked by the news that employment bias exists.

This past year, Public Integrity has scaled our collaboration with BIPOC news organizations. To avoid the effects of parachute journalism and other harmful practices, Public Integrity is evaluating and assessing assumptions and pitfalls so that we can avoid creating unintentional harm to our partners. We are also turning lessons learned into internal best practices so that we can better serve underrepresented communities. In 2022, more news organizations, mostly nonprofits, will center their reporting from the community’s perspective by not making assumptions about groups of underrepresented people or leaning into problematic narratives.

Invest in operational excellence: Look at some of the most successful news organizations and you’ll see roles like head of partnerships, chief strategy officer, chief of staff, head of culture, head of philanthropy, head of product, and more. These news organizations understand that having great journalists producing great journalism won’t make them sustainable. It literally takes a village to make a news organization sustainable. In 2022, you’ll see a proliferation of new roles designed to support the business of journalism and more investment in technology that advances our reach and our understanding of how the audience interacts with our content.

It doesn’t matter if your news organization is a for-profit, nonprofit, collaborative, or cooperative: One unavoidable fact is that all news organizations must generate enough revenue to be sustainable. It’s time to stop talking about a new business model — because there is no new business model that will magically make journalism financially sustainable.

In 2022, successful news organizations of all varieties will stop talking about business models. Instead, there will be a focus on building up business infrastructure — to support journalism products that people will pay for and to improve their operational excellence. Three areas of focus:

Build products and not models: It’s no secret that traditional revenue sources in journalism are becoming less dependable. There’s an urgent need for news organizations to diversify those sources. While philanthropy and major gifts from high net-worth donors are up, it’s not a long-term strategy and should be treated as catalytic investment to help grow the organization.

For example, The Markup, a nonprofit that investigates how powerful institutions are using technology to change society, developed Blacklight, a custom tool that scans how websites you visit track your every digital move. It’s services like Blacklight that can create new value for customers that goes beyond journalism. In 2022, more news organizations will focus on developing revenue-generating products and services that are not solely dependent on donor dollars or reader revenue.

Journalism with an equality lens: Let’s face it. Most mainstream journalism is created through a white lens. From reporting on a “hot food trend” called boba tea to an exposé on employment bias against African-American candidates, mainstream news organizations have a tendency to report news from communities of color as exotic or something new. Trust me, Asians already know boba tea is a thing, and Blacks won’t be shocked by the news that employment bias exists.

This past year, Public Integrity has scaled our collaboration with BIPOC news organizations. To avoid the effects of parachute journalism and other harmful practices, Public Integrity is evaluating and assessing assumptions and pitfalls so that we can avoid creating unintentional harm to our partners. We are also turning lessons learned into internal best practices so that we can better serve underrepresented communities. In 2022, more news organizations, mostly nonprofits, will center their reporting from the community’s perspective by not making assumptions about groups of underrepresented people or leaning into problematic narratives.

Invest in operational excellence: Look at some of the most successful news organizations and you’ll see roles like head of partnerships, chief strategy officer, chief of staff, head of culture, head of philanthropy, head of product, and more. These news organizations understand that having great journalists producing great journalism won’t make them sustainable. It literally takes a village to make a news organization sustainable. In 2022, you’ll see a proliferation of new roles designed to support the business of journalism and more investment in technology that advances our reach and our understanding of how the audience interacts with our content.

Chase Davis

Millie Tran

j. Siguru Wahutu

Joanne McNeil

Robert Hernandez

Amara Aguilar

Christoph Mergerson

Mario García

Julia Angwin

Joni Deutsch

Larry Ryckman

Victor Pickard

Raney Aronson-Rath

Anika Anand

Zizi Papacharissi

Natalia Viana

Tamar Charney

Gonzalo del Peon

Tony Baranowski

Daniel Eilemberg

Don Day

Sarah Marshall

Joshua P. Darr

Shalabh Upadhyay

Tom Trewinnard

Izabella Kaminska

Matt DeRienzo

Kristen Jeffers

Michael W. Wagner

Sam Guzik

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Cristina Tardáguila

Jessica Clark

David Skok

Jesse Holcomb

Richard Tofel

Chicas Poderosas

Matthew Pressman

Sarah Stonbely

Francesco Zaffarano

Errin Haines

Jody Brannon

Joe Amditis

Julia Munslow

Paul Cheung

John Davidow

Matt Karolian

S. Mitra Kalita

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Cindy Royal

Christina Shih

Anita Varma

Jennifer Coogan

Janelle Salanga

Cherian George

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Rachel Glickhouse

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Joy Mayer

Mandy Jenkins

Juleyka Lantigua

Candace Amos

Kendra Pierre-Louis

Jim Friedlich

A.J. Bauer

Simon Allison

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Whitney Phillips

Kristen Muller

Stephen Fowler

Doris Truong

Wilson Liévano

An Xiao Mina

Megan McCarthy

Melody Kramer

Parker Molloy

Mike Rispoli

Gordon Crovitz

Jonas Kaiser

Catalina Albeanu

Burt Herman

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Anthony Nadler

Brian Moritz

Meena Thiruvengadam

Eric Nuzum

Jennifer Brandel

Stefanie Murray

Moreno Cruz Osório

Nikki Usher

Mary Walter-Brown

Ariel Zirulnick

Kerri Hoffman

James Green

Alice Antheaume

David Cohn

Ståle Grut

Simon Galperin

Gabe Schneider

Andrew Freedman