Reflections on a four-year support program for independent journalism in countries faced with media capture
In 2021, the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) launched a program to aid independent media organizations in heavily controlled environments, where media outlets are either directly controlled by the government or by individuals with vested interests seeking political influence rather than profitability. Media capture, as this phenomenon is known, creates heavily distorted market conditions, making it nearly impossible for independent journalism to thrive.
Over the course of four years starting in 2021, we have worked with local experts to address media capture by supporting independent online media organizations operating in rural areas. The program’s primary goal is to strengthen the sustainability of these news portals, with three main areas of focus: financial and organizational sustainability as well as audience growth.
With a budget of nearly US$1 million, the program doled out support to three categories of media organizations.
The first category includes outlets run by a professional, business-minded team. The second category consists of organizations launched by journalists with less experience managing a news organization, focusing less on the operational and business side. The third category encompasses micro-organizations run by one or two journalists, where editors usually handle every task, from sales to project management.
In addition to providing financial support that helps keep these outlets afloat, our program also includes a mentoring component.
At the start of the project, each media outlet we included in our program outlined its goals to advance sustainability. Organizations with robust business-oriented management proved more successful in achieving these objectives. Conversely, organizations led only by journalists struggled, at least in the program’s first years.
For a summary of what it has worked and it has not worked in the project, read the full article by Robert Nemeth on our Medium blog.
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