“Independent journalism—the kind that favours public interest over political, commercial, or factional agendas—is in peril,” states a recent Unesco report on “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development.”
But how can journalists remain independent in economically difficult times? Does the very funding of independent journalism call its independence into question? And what innovative approaches can we take to make an independent medium profitable?
To answer these and many other questions, journalists gone entrepreneurs – at the international and local level – will share their best practices and experiences at the entrepreneurial track of Dataharvest – the European Investigative Journalism Conference.
We will discuss financing and revenue concepts, look at crowd and community models, and find the balance between funding and autonomy to make independent journalism a reality – and commercially successful. At our roundtable, we address the various challenges freelance journalists face on a daily basis, before concluding the entrepreneurial track with the workshop “Pitch perfect.”
Find out about best business models, get the secret ingredient for the perfect pitch and put the finishing touches on your grant application. Because despite all obstacles, independent journalism serving the public is needed – and worth pursuing.
As The New Sector, a mapping of non-profit journalism conducted by Netzwerk Recherche shows, more and more independent outlets are changing the face of journalism in Europe. In Reference – the European Independent Media Circle, 20 of these organisations have come together under the umbrella of Arena to form a European network that supports and creates the independent journalism of the future.