National Consultations on Solutions to Promote Media Viability While Preserving Media Independence

"Independent media organisations have a vital function in a democracy. They hold powerful actors to account and provide reliable information people need in order to make informed choices. However, media houses and outlets around the world struggle to sustain themselves."

This research report highlights the results of a series of consultations with media professionals from ten countries looking at how they remain viable and generate income in difficult times. Carried out by Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and drawing on research provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), the consultations seek to understand, from a practitioner's point of view, what the challenges and opportunities around media viability are in each country. The ten countries include Brazil, El Salvador, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, and Tunisia, and topics cover, for example, income streams and business models of media, access to (online) advertisement, the impact of big tech, and the way independent media are affected by the contexts in which they operate.

The research forms part of the Supporting Media Viability project, which is funded by UNESCO and co-implemented by FPU and The EIU. It focuses on the feasibility of possible solutions to preserve media viability without compromise to editorial independence and the integrity of journalism, as well as on opportunities for knowledge exchange to highlight and share successful media viability initiatives.

As explained in the report, "Media outlets around the world are increasingly diversifying their sources of revenue. However, as the revenues per income streams - such as advertisement - are decreasing, the diversification of income models remains a challenge. For media operating in very challenging press freedom environments there are few possibilities to generate commercial revenue. Media operating in a low income environment have possibilities to diversify income, but the limited purchasing power of people in these contexts also limits the growth of these media. Media in the comparatively less challenging environments also need to continuously update their business models. Considerable flexibility and resilience is required to survive while developing a diversified income model over the course of many years, especially considering the digitalisation and influence of big technological companies on media, the advertisement market, and outreach. Overall, media will need to receive continued support to innovate their business models, as well as access to stable funding sources." The report also makes the point that because the issues affecting media viability are complex, they require different interventions - from advocating at the level of governments, to educating the public about the importance of reliable information.

To better understand the current challenges and to explore possible solutions for the sustainability of independent media, FPU conducted national consultations, which generally involved three stakeholders within each country. Consultations took place between June and September 2021 and were recorded, transcribed, and summarised into ten country reports, which are presented in this document. Each report is structured according to two questions: 1) What are the challenges to media viability in the country? and 2) What are possible solutions to preserve media viability without compromise to editorial independence and the integrity of journalism?

Although the context in each country is different, the report identifies common trends and recommendations. (Editor's note: Below is a lightly edited excerpt from the report; for example, The CI editorial team has added emphasising font in order to accentuate the recommendations.) They include:

• The intersection between media and politics remains very strong in several countries under study. In these conditions, there is often little transparency on media ownership and a lack of transparency on local funding sources of media.
• Relatedly, in some cases, a change in government policies was raised as an important precondition to possibly change the negative discourse towards the (public) media. A different political climate may benefit the financial conditions of a media outlet - for instance, by lifting difficulties in acquiring media licenses or access to (governmental) funding by independent media.
• The advertisement markets for media are, in many of the countries under study, still controlled by a few large, more traditional media outlets. Generally, the advertising market is driven by a number of factors, including a network, political patronage, and the ability of media owners to leverage relationships with the corporate sector. Due to the digitalisation of media and the advertising market, the market has further changed over the past years. There is limited to no regulation in the distribution of advertisement funding based on quality standards for journalism. Some media practitioners proposed to address this problem by stimulating national governments to support regulatory bodies for media advertisement.
• While digital advertisement is on the rise, most revenue of online (media) advertisement is directed to big tech companies. An increased amount of advertising money is flowing towards social media platforms, and internet advertising has been rising exponentially, as observed in all countries under study. The media sector as a whole is suffering from this trend, particularly the more traditional print media, which are struggling to make the transition to online media. In some countries under study, media are not even eligible to generate an income on the large social media platforms. Media practitioners call for policies to regulate online advertisement in order to strengthen the competition position of traditional media.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the global economy, including the media sector. The pandemic has accelerated the number of newsroom closures, salary cuts, and job losses for journalists around the world. In some countries, printing of newspapers was halted, and the media are struggling to generate fresh sources of income. Thus, media practitioners believe that it is important to keep advocating for COVID-19 response subsidies, stimulus packages, and tax incentives specific to the media industry.
• The economic situation has a strong impact on media viability. In some of the countries under study, the media sector must seek funding abroad to continue operating, as there is no basis for sustainability within the national economy, and many business models for media do not work in this context. Some media operations have been forced to close, journalists have left the country to more viable places for journalism, or media have refocused their business model on online clicks to generate an income, which negatively impacts the quality of the media. Within this context, media practitioners propose media support organisations, civic companies, and the diaspora as sources to generate an income.
• Innovation, grants, and training support from big tech companies should better address the needs of the media sector within the local context. There are possibilities in terms of training and innovation, but the impact on revenue and capacity building for independent media is very limited. There is a need to support traditional media in their transition to online media by providing know-how and sharing of good practices. In addition, independent and smaller-sized media could develop partnerships through, for example, fact-checking projects and applying for seed funding support, as opposed to large funds that they are ineligible for.
• The way audiences are consuming the news shifted from print to digital over the past years, as observed by the media practitioners in all countries. Much of the audience is consuming news from within their own ideological bubbles, from social media platforms or (sponsored) influencers. Media literacy programmes are important to educate people in understanding how to validate information circulating on social media.
• The rise of digital advertisement impacts the quality of independent media. There is a rise of clickbait and copy/paste journalism; copyright protections are often not respected nor enforced; there is little monitoring on quality and ethics; and, ultimately, most online advertising is directed to social media platforms. Independent media are struggling to take a slice of the cake. The media sector requires a better, updated framework for (online) advertisement with equal access and a fair distribution, and a minimum of journalistic standards for online media to be monitored by governing media bodies.
• Social media algorithms disadvantage findability online of local and independent media. Some audiences look for factual alternatives and a counter narrative, and are willing to hear a different story, but can at times not reach independent media, as the algorithms are disadvantageous for smaller media. There is a need for unified pressure from the media sector, as individual media operations cannot easily engage with internet giants. In response, media practitioners proposed, for example, forming a nation- or region wide media alliance to have a stronger voice. There is a need for engagement with big tech companies by the media sector on the impact of algorithms, as well as of "fake news", on access to reliable information. Media, academics, digital literacy activists, and audiences should collaborate to invest in, and increase, digital literacy and media trust.
• There is a lack of sustainable business models for media that can be applied and considered positive examples. Even though the number of revenue streams has increased, it seems that the amount of incomes generated through each stream has decreased compared to traditional media revenues. This affects both traditional and new media. It is important for independent media across the world to have more exposure to positive business models and professionals, to learn from other media houses, and to have access to consultants and experts in media viability. Many media are still largely reliant on grants from private and institutional donors for their sustainability. However, a business model cannot solely be built around donor funding. Donor funding can only be an intervention and serve as support for "young" media houses, and not a solution. It important that media businesses dissect their own work, products, and services in order to better understand their audiences and to apply these findings into their business models. One strategy would be to offer training and coaching to media professionals on the development of their own business models.
• Media viability studies are important to understand country-specific challenges and opportunities and to propose functioning business models for independent media. In recent years, an increased amount of studies have been conducted; this is a positive start towards better understanding which business models could be explored by media operations. Twinning of media operations is proposed as a solution to learn from each other in a trusted way. Other proposed solutions by media practitioners are the creation of a forum, or a safe online platform where (digital) media organisations, including (social media) platform companies, can discuss the issues they are facing.
• Media practitioners feel they are in need of more audience research in relation to media consumption. In order to explore new platforms and engage audiences, and to study possibilities for public participation to finance media operations, it is important to answer questions such as: how to understand the needs of the different audiences? How to reach the right audiences?

Please note: FPU, UNESCO, and The EIU created a database of the main points of input received during the consultations. Containing 153 findings that came up during the consultations, it can be filtered by: country; input on challenge/solution; and issue area.