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.

Brian Moritz

Anika Anand

Alice Antheaume

Chicas Poderosas

Zizi Papacharissi

Tamar Charney

Julia Angwin

Mike Rispoli

Joy Mayer

Jody Brannon

Sam Guzik

Kristen Muller

Stephen Fowler

Whitney Phillips

j. Siguru Wahutu

Tom Trewinnard

Gabe Schneider

Simon Galperin

Rachel Glickhouse

Larry Ryckman

Errin Haines

Tony Baranowski

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Candace Amos

David Cohn

John Davidow

Gonzalo del Peon

Burt Herman

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Christoph Mergerson

Joni Deutsch

Simon Allison

Joe Amditis

Jesse Holcomb

Juleyka Lantigua

Catalina Albeanu

An Xiao Mina

Victor Pickard

Eric Nuzum

Meena Thiruvengadam

Natalia Viana

Jennifer Brandel

Melody Kramer

Joanne McNeil

Christina Shih

Nikki Usher

Matt DeRienzo

Mario García

Francesco Zaffarano

Amara Aguilar

Michael W. Wagner

Andrew Freedman

Parker Molloy

Kendra Pierre-Louis

Mandy Jenkins

Don Day

Wilson Liévano

Cherian George

Jennifer Coogan

Raney Aronson-Rath

Megan McCarthy

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Kerri Hoffman

S. Mitra Kalita

Anita Varma

Richard Tofel

Ståle Grut

Shalabh Upadhyay

Daniel Eilemberg

Doris Truong

Sarah Stonbely

Robert Hernandez

James Green

Jim Friedlich

Chase Davis

Joshua P. Darr

David Skok

Izabella Kaminska

Cindy Royal

Sarah Marshall

Matthew Pressman

Ariel Zirulnick

Cristina Tardáguila

Anthony Nadler

Millie Tran

Gordon Crovitz

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Paul Cheung

Kristen Jeffers

Mary Walter-Brown

Matt Karolian

Stefanie Murray

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Julia Munslow

Moreno Cruz Osório

A.J. Bauer

Janelle Salanga

Jessica Clark

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Jonas Kaiser