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.
Paul Cheung is CEO of the Center for Public Integrity.
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.
Paul Cheung is CEO of the Center for Public Integrity.
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