How can we strengthen the viability of media and help professional journalism survive in the face of intensifying economic pressures?
IPDC's 40th anniversary celebration invited five experts from five continents to share their viewpoints. They discussed challenges to media business models, the problem of media capture, threats by authorities and opportunities of co-operation with Internet companies.
IPDC is the acronym of UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication, which is concerned at the grave challenges facing media viability, which have been intensified by COVID-induced economic crisis worldwide.
Innovation for survival
For independent news media, the ideal of being self-sustaining goes hand in hand with ensuring regular publication and maintaining journalistic integrity.
Innovation towards this goal is a passion for Ms Mijal Lastrebner, a co-founder and managing director of Sembra Media, a non-profit organization helping independent digital media in the Spanish world to develop sustainable business models.
"Real powerful innovations start with cohesion, meaning articulating the business model with a deep understanding of direct and indirect beneficiaries of the media service," she said.
In addition to honing the value proposition, Lastrebner emphasized the need to articulate actual market opportunities, and identify areas for tech and content innovation as well as management innovation. A study conducted by her organization shows that in Latin America, media that have at least one person to manage the sales have an annual income surpassing 100 000 dollars, while those who don't have any such employee could not surpass 4000 dollars in terms of the annual income.
