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.

Simon Allison

Melody Kramer

Jennifer Coogan

Jesse Holcomb

Shalabh Upadhyay

John Davidow

S. Mitra Kalita

Christoph Mergerson

Don Day

Richard Tofel

Zizi Papacharissi

Chase Davis

Ariel Zirulnick

Errin Haines

Cristina Tardáguila

Mary Walter-Brown

Eric Nuzum

An Xiao Mina

Amara Aguilar

James Green

Joshua P. Darr

Jody Brannon

Candace Amos

Joy Mayer

Parker Molloy

Izabella Kaminska

Brian Moritz

Chicas Poderosas

Jennifer Brandel

Tony Baranowski

Doris Truong

Joanne McNeil

Kendra Pierre-Louis

Michael W. Wagner

David Cohn

Ståle Grut

Megan McCarthy

Joni Deutsch

Mandy Jenkins

Francesco Zaffarano

Sam Guzik

Burt Herman

Kristen Jeffers

Sarah Stonbely

Kerri Hoffman

Millie Tran

Matthew Pressman

Jessica Clark

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Stefanie Murray

Matt DeRienzo

Christina Shih

Stephen Fowler

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Matt Karolian

Gabe Schneider

Juleyka Lantigua

Tom Trewinnard

Janelle Salanga

Rachel Glickhouse

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Julia Angwin

Kristen Muller

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Jonas Kaiser

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Joe Amditis

Catalina Albeanu

Larry Ryckman

Raney Aronson-Rath

Simon Galperin

Moreno Cruz Osório

Cindy Royal

Mike Rispoli

Julia Munslow

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Sarah Marshall

David Skok

A.J. Bauer

Alice Antheaume

Mario García

Jim Friedlich

Paul Cheung

Anika Anand

Andrew Freedman

Anita Varma

j. Siguru Wahutu

Daniel Eilemberg

Wilson Liévano

Tamar Charney

Anthony Nadler

Gonzalo del Peon

Natalia Viana

Robert Hernandez

Nikki Usher

Cherian George

Meena Thiruvengadam

Victor Pickard

Whitney Phillips

Gordon Crovitz