The Journalism Value Loop

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore  what success and sustainability look like for European independent media today.On today’s episode, we talk to Johanna Weidtmann, the manager of Reflekt, the first independent and non-profit research team in Switzerland.We will talk about the media landscape in Switzerland, why readers lost trust in journalism, and the reasons funding independent media in Switzerland is not as easy as one might think.Independent outlets such as Reflekt point out things that people don't want to be pointed out, and this is one reason many are reluctant to support journalism as a philanthropic cause.Johanna will also share insights about how Reflekt is collaborating with influencers to reach out to new audiences, and how these collaborations bring in new followers and small donors.We’re going to discuss how a potentially new stream of money related to innovation is coming in. These funds are available not from the usual philanthropic sources, but from example, science, or innovation hubs.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode, we talk to Joanna Krawczyk, the director of Correctiv.Europe, a network of over 350 European media outlets and journalists.We will talk about the different ways Correctiv.Europe is helping small local newsrooms and journalists. From sharing impactful data-driven investigations they can use, to capacity-building, fundraising, community building and also networking.We also address the challenges a growing organization such as Correctiv faces. What are the best practices for onboarding new colleagues? And how can an organization prepare for changes in management?Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode, we talk to Jan-Willem Sanders, the publisher of Follow the Money, an investigative news outlet based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FTM is mainly funded by its readers, and focuses on long-term, deep-dive investigations with impact that make change. It publishes stories about the political and financial decision makers and also investigates hidden forces such as lobby groups.In this interview, we talk about the business model of Follow the Money: how it combines its newsletter, a paywall and an app to convert its readers into subscribers. How does it keep its readers engaged with story pitches, and how do they prevent churn? We will also explore topics such as pricing, and how did they design their on-boarding process?Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode, we interview Disclose’s journalist Pierre Leibovici about building resilience in the face of state persecution. Disclose is a French investigative journalism outlet, which has repeatedly reported on state secrets around the arms trade and intelligence cooperation with authoritarian regimes.Most Disclose journalists have been interviewed by the French intelligence services. Most recently, a journalist had her communications surveilled and was detained and interrogated by a counter-terrorism judge.We’re gonna discuss how membership and tracking the impact of investigations help to build resilience in the face of state persecution, and how the newsroom adapted to protect journalists and sources.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we will be talking to Mick ter Reehorst, the co-founder of Are We Europe, a non-profit media collective dedicated to innovation and diversity in the European media landscape.The collective supports emerging talents in Europe and promotes the creation of inclusive pan-European media initiatives, focusing on the underrepresented media makers and creatives.Are We Europe uses innovative methods such as design sprints and solutions journalism to build media projects that are relevant to the local communities, and are interesting to a European audience as well.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode, we talk to Brigitte Alfter, the founder and director of Arena for Journalism in Europe, a non-profit to support crossborder, collaborative journalism.We will start by discussing how journalism – once a very competitive profession – evolved into today’s collaborative initiatives. Then we will talk about the new editorial roles, and skills these crossborder projects require.Then we take a look at what kind of structures are needed for these collaborative projects, and how these non-hierarchical structures can be integrated into traditional newsrooms where hierarchy is still the norm.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode, we talk to Reporters United’s journalist Thodoris Chondrogiannos about Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Reporters United is an investigative journalism outlet based in Greece.After reporting about a surveillance scandal involving the Greek National Security Agency, and after proving a link between Dimitriadis, the then president of the Greek NSA, and the Predator spyware, the reporters working on the story were sued by him, twice. One of them for 3.3 million euros.We are delving into how to survive a SLAPP, and how it can hurt newsrooms.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode, we talk to Ostro’s editor-in-chief, Anuška Delić about training the investigative journalists of the future. Ostro is an investigative journalism project that covers the Adriatic region.In 2019 Ostro created the Incubator for Future Investigative Reporters, where fact-checking serves as the base for investigation. This project has been awarded the Sozial Marie Prize for Social Innovation, and is now expanding across borders, from Slovenia to Croatia, where journalism students will be fact-checking the upcoming presidential election.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode, we talk to Inside Story’s founder and publisher, Dimitris Xenakis. Inside Story is an investigative journalism project in Greece. We talked about their subscription model and how they are engaging their community by letting them into the journalistic process. The readers can be part of the team and can pitch stories and discuss how they are conducted.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode, we talk to David Cabo and Eva Belmonte, co-directors of Civio, a Spanish data journalism project that shines a light on public entities,This non-profit outlet is using technology as an important tool to scrutinize public policies, contracts and funds.We will be looking into how Civio is using technology in their marketing strategy, and how an automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has helped them with memberships.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value Project podcast, brought to you by Reference, a self-organized network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism.We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode we talk to Ximena Villagrán, Chief Operating Officer of Maldita, about HR management in an ever-growing organization. Maldita is a Spanish outlet that grew from a fact-checking Twitter account into a big media outlet that covers many areas. It fights disinformation through journalism, technology, education and new narratives.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we will be talking to Ricardo Esteves Ribeiro, the co-founder of Fumaça, an investigative journalism newsroom that publishes narrative podcasts.We will explore questions like how radical transparency, as well as horizontal decision making is possible in a newsroom, and how these concepts impact growth and sustainability.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we will be talking to Elisabeta Tola, the co-founder and president of Facta, an Italian nonprofit center applying the scientific method to investigative and data journalism.We will explore how investigative journalism can benefit from the scientific methods, about product thinking in journalism, about community building, and also about the benefits and disadvantages of not having a media outlet, but publishing in more established media outlets instead.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we take a look at how Deník Referendum is monetising its impactful investigations about the dealings of Czech oligarchs, and how they are experimenting with unique technical solutions for a better engagement with their readers. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this episode we take a look at how the Italian IrpiMedia grew from a group of freelance journalists publishing in legacy media into an investigative newsroom collaborating with dozens of freelancers. They also have a project where they work together with community journalists working in news deserts in Italy.But how does a small team handle such growth? How can the tasks be effectively split between the co-founders? And how is it possible to create a balance between growth and sustainability?Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we take a look at how Investigate Europe works as a remote team with its journalists based all over Europe. We will explore how the organizational culture of a team is defined by the different perspectives between the team members, and the way these differences are navigated.How communication works in such a team – for example how much sharing of information is optimal so the journalists have all the information they need, but at the same time they are not overburdened? Also we will talk about the moment a key person decides to leave the organization –  how this transition can be managed, and also how a replacement can be found?Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we look into The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and their experience with leadership resilience and impact. This non-profit newsroom, based in London, seeks public interest investigations. It was co-founded in 2010 by investigative reporter Elaine Potter, inspired by the New-York based ProPublica. The Bureau’s fast growing team now has around 40 staff members, who frequently work with legacy media outlets to boost the impact of their stories. In this episode, we’re gonna dive into how they promote impact with less obvious tools.Listen to find out more about how this investigative newsroom maintains its focus, promotes its leadership resilience, takes care of its staff and manages security risks. And, moreover, how they reorganized the newsroom to boost the impact of their journalism.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

In this episode we talk to Catarina Carvalho, founder and editor-in-chief of Mensagem de Lisboa, a newsroom of local journalism that covers the city of LisbonThe project was launched during the covid-19 pandemic, because a group of journalists felt that, even though the majority of Portuguese outlets is based in Lisbon, the stories that matter to the city were not being told. The news coverage was very institutional-based and left out most of the territory and its people.So, with the help of a local business group, they started Mensagem de Lisboa, that had, at the time, a team of five full-time journalists and a lot of contributors.In this interview we talk with Catarina Carvalho the importance of community engagement and how going besides journalism can help with that. We also discuss what it means to be independent.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we sneak into The Bristol Cable, an independent media founded in 2014, in the city of Bristol, England. What started as a grassroots project, ran by volunteers, is now a ten-person horizontally managed newsroom. There are four full time reporters, people in charge of operations, tech, strategy, community events and social media. Recently a people and wellbeing lead joined the team. Besides the online edition, the Cable publishes a free quarterly print magazine with 30.000 copies. As a cooperative, it is owned by its 2500 members, paying, on average, nearly 5£ every month. And they have a say in the most structural decisions in the newsroom.Listen to this episode to find out more about how their membership program grew and how the newsroom is horizontally managed through sociocracy principles.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.On today’s episode we will be talking to Tamás Bodoky, the editor-in-chief of Átlátszó, the first Hungarian investigative journalism nonprofit and watchdog NGO to promote transparency, accountability, and freedom of information in Hungary. One of the things that make Átlátszó unique is that it focuses on local stories. It is also a hub for local activists, and they have a lot of experience in working with local journalists, going back to the local communities with their stories, and reaching out to people who are not typical readers of independent media.Átlátszó was the first media outlet in Hungary to start a campaign for reader donations, and they are quite successful at it. At this point about half of your yearly income comes from micro donations – this is quite high compared to other, similar outlets in the region.Listen to this episode to find out more about managing a newsroom that focuses on local stories, has a vibrant community, and successfully converts its popularity into reader donations.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore  what success and sustainability look like for European independent media today.In today’s episode we’re talking about the Dublin Inquirer, a newsroom that covers the city of Dublin, a nearby county and both its local governments.As of last year, 95% of its budget was secured by subscriptions, granting access to a weekly digital edition and a monthly print one. But to get there, the team tested multiple ideas – from a physical store to editorial services. And it’s still always running on a shoestring.With a team of four full-time journalists, one part-time admin manager, and three freelancers, they recently had to make an important decision on how to grow.In this interview we discuss the challenges small local newsrooms face to stay afloat, how community engagement works and how to actively involve communities in reporting.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. In each episode, we interview a manager or journalist from an independent newsroom in Europe. We talk about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore  what success and sustainability looks like for independent media today.This podcast is brought to you by Reference, a self-organised network of 26 European independent news outlets, hosted by Arena for Journalism in Europe.In this episode we talk to Diogo Cardoso and Sofia da Palma Rodrigues, the co-founders of Divergente, a digital magazine of narrative journalism. Divergente was created in 2014 with a focus on long-form multimedia journalism. For ten years, it has grown into a professionalized newsroom. This episode focuses on that path of growth and on how to stay true to the project while growing. It also delves into different revenue sources and the funding paths that are not worth taking.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference . We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In this  episode we talk to Bram Souffreau, a co-founder and former journalist of Apache, who is now the operational manager. Apache started in 2009 by the will of a group of journalists affected by a restructuring of the media sector. It is an investigative journalism outlet that covers the Flemish region in Belgium. Apache started as a blog, and it grew into a professionalized newsroom. It works as a cooperative, that has around 2000 members. Besides the original investment made by the 2000 co-owners, Apache is mainly funded by subscriptions, with around 5000 subscribers for the website, and around 1.500 for the magazine.Listen to this episode to find out more about community revenue from an outlet that gets most of its funding through subscriptions.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore  what success and sustainability looks like for European independent media today.In the second episode, we talk with Szabolcs Panyi, a Hungarian investigative journalist working for Direkt36, a non-profit investigative journalism center that provides in-depth accountability reporting.Several years ago, Szabolcs Panyi was the subject of surveillance by the Hungarian government. His phone number was found in a leaked database containing 50,000 phone numbers of people targeted by Pegasus, a powerful spyware tool that can be installed remotely, and access virtually everything on the target’s phone.Pegasus was designed by an Israeli company called NSO Group with the purpose to to fight crime and terrorism. However, the leaked database shows that it was used for the surveillance of human rights activists, political dissidents, lawyers and journalists across the world.Listen to the episode to find out more about how Szabolcs Panyi, and the Direkt36 editorial team is coping with the challenges of working as a journalist in Hungary.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The Loop is a Journalism Value project podcast, brought to you by Reference. We are interviewing the members of this network about key challenges for them, ranging from funding and business models, to community engagement and organizational structures, as we explore  what success and sustainability look like for European independent media today.In the first episode, we talk to Zoltán Sipos, founder and editor-in-chief of Átlátszó Erdély.In 2014, Zoltán Sipos was tired of trying to find a job in an environment where there isn’t a lot of room for independent journalism, so he created his own investigative journalism project. Atlátszo Érdély, meaning Transparent Transylvania, was born as the sister publication of the Hungarian outlet Atlátszo, and focuses on the issues of the Hungarian minority living in the Transylvania region, in Romania.Thriving in an environment where people don’t know or feel the need for investigative journalism proved to be a challenge. In this episode, we delve into how Atlátszó Erdély found a way to “jump the fence and break the progressive bubble” of its early readers, to reach a wider audience.Listen to the episode to find out more about Átlátszó Erdély’s struggles and accomplishments within its community.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.