On this week’s episode of Media Voices, Esther interviews the Guardian’s director of philanthropic & strategic partnerships Rachel White about finding ways of funding independent journalism.
In the news round-up, the crew of the good ship Media Voices discuss Google’s plans to fix local news, an uptick in trust in traditional media in the UK and discuss Jonah Peretti insisting that everything is fine at BuzzFeed.
What we’re reading:
- ‘I write fake news’, via the Guardian
- ‘Never get high on your own supply – why social media bosses don’t use social media’ – via the Guardian
- ‘Facebook’s trust survey isn’t as simple as it sounds’ – via Nieman Lab
In our own words: Esther Kezia Thorpe
Most of us know by now that the days of a single revenue source sustaining a publishing business are over. This has resulted in both some brilliant and baffling initiatives from publishers experimenting with different revenue streams, to varying levels of success.
The Guardian and theguardian.org are separate entities, but they share the same mission and the same desire to advance independent journalism. They’re certainly not an organisation to shy away from trying something new, even if it’s asking for contributions on a slightly different scale.
Not only was it fascinating to find out how it all worked, but it was interesting to see how they navigate the thorny ethical issues of philanthropy-funded journalism. Despite the challenges, there are definite opportunities for a similar model to work for other media organisations.
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