Artificial intelligence offers powerful tools while also putting new pressures on already fragile business models in journalism. While newsrooms can turn to AI to boost efficiency and reach audiences in new ways, they also have to face a significant decrease in traffic – and complex questions about who should pay for the journalism that fuels AI systems.

AI tools are reshaping journalism in many ways, and their impact on business models is becoming increasingly visible. Experts usually articulate both optimism and uncertainty surrounding these changes.

For example, Niamh Burns, Senior Research Analyst in Tech and Media at Enders Analysis, describes the current situation as “a mixed bag.” Veronika Munk, Director of Innovation and New Markets at Denník N, notes that every newsroom she knows already uses AI in some form. There is even a sense of fear of missing out, she says, as newsrooms rush to try new tools, but “only a few look at success metrics,” and follow whether these tools deliver the results they expect.

The Benefits of AI in Newsrooms

Despite this lack of clarity, certain benefits of AI are evident. AI tools can help news outlets respond more quickly to their audiences, operate more efficiently, and personalise their products. They also give news organisations new ways to tell stories, reach audiences through different formats, and create products that have the potential to bring in more revenue. One clear example is the use of AI tools for tagging, which Munk describes as particularly helpful for search engine optimisation and direct email campaigns, both of which are essential for maintaining and growing readership. Other examples include automated social media posting, translation, and transcription tools, both from audio to text and vice versa.

Burns highlights that AI tools can become especially valuable for data journalists. These tools make it possible to analyse large datasets far more quickly and with fewer resources, which means even small newsrooms can attempt investigations that would previously have been out of reach. She also points out that “AI can also help with the multiplatform distribution model,” making it easier to prepare audio, video, or social media versions of a single story. In many cases, these new formats lead to higher user engagement and, with that, a greater chance of converting casual readers into subscribers.

Some organisations are already using AI to write headlines that perform better in search engines or to translate stories into new languages. This allows them to reach audiences they have never served before. Burns, however, warns against taking personalisation too far. While AI can support more sophisticated recommendation systems, journalism has always been shaped by editorial judgement, and she argues that this cannot be fully delegated to algorithms. Editors must still decide which stories matter most.

Munk takes a practical view of these developments. If a newsroom can save time on routine tasks, she says, then there is more capacity for journalistic work, and this ultimately strengthens the product. She has also seen AI tools directly contribute to higher revenue. “We have a lot of campaigns, and this tool, Manychat, a social media client, is really useful,” she explains. Denník N integrated the tool into Instagram, where sharing links is not possible. However, when the outlet partnered with The New York Times and bundled subscriptions, users could comment “New York Times” on an Instagram post and they immediately received an automated direct message with the subscription link. Munk explains that they have been using this tool for half a year and “the conversion rate is quite high sometimes.”

Another important contribution of AI is its ability to analyse audience behaviour. By identifying trends in topics, formats, or publishing times that perform best, AI tools can guide editors as they shape content strategies. These insights help balance public interest journalism with the need to produce stories that draw enough attention to sustain the business.

Still, as Munk notes, while some outlets may think about monetising the tools they develop, most are building similar systems for internal use, such as summarisation tools or language checkers. This means the competitive advantage often lies not in creating unique tools, but in deploying them thoughtfully.

Risks to Traffic and Visibility

At the same time, concerns about the risks AI poses to journalism have been steadily growing. Many of these concerns arise from the simple fact that the business model for news media was already fragile long before AI tools became widespread. Burns explains that publishers originally put their content online for free because they expected to earn money from advertising. That model has been faltering for a decade, but, as she says, “with AI, we see a further challenge: news organisations not getting clickthrough traffic as before.”

This is indeed the main concern for news media. While tech companies have relied heavily on news content to train large language models, now search engines and chatbots answer many queries directly. This means that even when users seek reliable information, they may not reach the website that produced it. Studies already show that the clickthrough rate for Google’s AI-generated summaries is dramatically lower than for traditional search results – Tollbit, for example, found a 91% decrease. Furthermore, Cloudflare reported that OpenAI scraped a news site hundreds of times for every single referral page view it sent.

Publishers see a pattern in this: while their content helps power AI tools, their own visibility shrinks. According to a study by the Reuters Institute, 74% of respondents are worried about a decline in referral traffic for their news organisation.

The impact is not equal across newsrooms. Munk notes that Denník N feels the decline in clickthrough traffic less because of their hard paywall model. Still, it can be a serious problem for outlets that rely heavily on advertising, she adds.

This has serious consequences. As audience behaviour changes, more people turn to AI-powered search engines and chatbots. For many publishers, disintermediation, the loss of direct connection with audiences, is becoming the greatest fear. Younger audiences, who already have weaker ties to traditional news brands, are drifting even further away.

Therefore, Burns argues that newsrooms “need to build direct engagement with their audience,” also because nobody knows how these tools will evolve. They change constantly as tech companies adjust their products to improve user experience. The figures and patterns we see today may shift again in as little as a few months.

Legal Battles and Licensing

Against this backdrop, publishers are trying to rethink how they can adapt. Some believe that they may eventually need to distinguish between human readers and AI agents. As The Atlantic’s CEO, Nicholas Thompson, argued at a conference, they need to identify who is visiting the site so that the organisation can decide how to monetise that interaction. He imagines showing different products or even blocking access in some cases.

You could block AI crawlers, Burns says, but then you face the “problem of losing visibility, because users will still go to these tools to search for information.” Therefore, blocking may protect content, but it also deepens the risk of disappearing from public view.

There is also a broader ethical and economic issue. AI companies rely heavily on the quality of journalistic work, which depends on careful fact-checking, verification and editorial judgement. A white paper published last year by News Media Alliance confirmed that journalistic content is among the most frequently used sources for AI systems. Yet much of this use happens without permission or payment. Burns asks whether it is possible to create an incentive structure where AI companies pay for content. Her answer is cautious: “It’s very patchy at the moment.”

Some publishers have responded with legal action. The New York Times has sued OpenAI for copyright violations, while Dow Jones and the New York Post have taken action against Perplexity.

Others have chosen partnership. A number of news organisations have already agreed to licensing deals. Burns sees “some development in the content of such deals, they are more sophisticated.” She believes that the companies should pay the newsrooms not only for historical, but also for ongoing access.

Survey data from the Reuters Institute shows that almost four in ten publishers expect licensing income from AI companies to become significant. Most, however, prefer collective deals that support the entire sector, rather than each newsroom negotiating its own terms.

Munk agrees that AI companies need journalistic content, and she sees licensing as essential for the future. “It doesn’t work otherwise. If you use something, you need to pay for it,” she argues. Burns also believes that licensing is the right path but warns that not every market will benefit equally. Large English-language publishers have more leverage, while smaller organisations will struggle. She argues that this imbalance shows why “regulatory intervention is needed here, not just ad hoc deals.”

At the same time, the growing value of human editorial oversight may become a strength for publishers who emphasise accuracy, verification, and accountability. Munk notes that journalists are responsible for the content they produce, and this responsibility gives this type of content greater value. Outlets that maintain strong editorial standards, she says, will stand out in the information environment.

Looking ahead, many argue that publishers, journalists, and tech companies should work together to understand how different forms of journalism contribute to the AI value chain. This understanding will be essential for building sustainable business models in the next era of journalism.

Ebru Akgün, Programme Manager, Informed Society at Adessium Foundation explains why supporting journalism is central to the foundation’s mission, shares insights into their focus, and highlights both the opportunities and challenges of sustaining a healthy information ecosystem in Europe.

Why is it important for the Adessium Foundation to support journalism? How does it fit into your broader strategy?

Adessium is a Dutch family foundation that works on various topics with the aim to foster positive societal change. We operate three programmes, one of which is dedicated to a well-functioning information ecosystem in the digital age.

We have been funding journalism for over 15 years, with a consistent focus on strengthening networks that produce high quality cross-border investigative journalism. Over time, we have developed our approach to ensure we meet the needs of the changing information ecosystem. We believe that quality information is key to informed decision making, whether that’s by politicians, policy makers, business leaders, or the general public.

In the early years, we mostly supported organisations that focused on accountability work. Over time, we have expanded the types of organisations we support to make sure that information that’s relevant for broader audiences is also produced. We don’t dictate what needs to be done but, provide general support to journalism organisations and aim to help strengthen them. In addition, we support press freedom and media defence work, and have taken a key interest in the impact of digitisation and technology on the information ecosystem.

In what forms do you support journalism? Do you work directly with news organisations or through intermediaries?

 Our Informed Society programme tries to cover different parts of the information ecosystem, but if we just zoom into those who produce journalistic content, we support nonprofits that engage in cross-border collaborative investigative journalism. We support those who directly coordinate the work and who often publish through their partners. Typical examples are Lighthouse Reports, Investigate Europe, and Correctiv Europe.

We also support intermediaries because we believe it is key that complementary funds exist for those whom we do not fund directly, but who are the partners of our grantees. The network of our network, so to say. We have funded Journalismfund.eu for many years and currently co-fund IJ4EU. Additionally, we are among the founding partners of Civitates, where we co-created the sub-fund that focuses on fostering public interest journalism at a national level within the EU.

What are your focus areas?

Geographically, we focus on the EU. We don’t restrict our funding to any specific themes, primarily because we believe that our partners should be those who identify which topics are most relevant to society and need to be investigated. It is to respect their editorial integrity, but also because we want to provide partners with space and flexibility to develop expertise or to expand their topical areas over time.

In addition to financial support, do you provide any other assistance?

Our main approach is to provide multi-annual core funding. In addition, we fund complementary activities such as strengthening infrastructure (e.g. tooling that benefits the broader field, support mechanisms for access to information, etc.).

Where it makes sense, we provide additional earmarked funding to our partners for specific organisational development priorities. This usually entails bringing in external expertise and support. We identify the challenges and needs together with grantees but make sure they remain in the driver’s seat and select and contract external support. This could be a consultant who helps with fundraising, for example, or building income generation capacity.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from supporting journalism?

 More and more, our partners struggle to distribute their content and findings effectively. With the proliferation of AI-based search and retrieval, the way people consume information is once again transforming. Content producers, including journalism groups, are losing control over how to reach broader audiences or retain direct relationships. In the long run, this undermines the viability of quality information providers.

But I’m also seeing more and more organisations adapting to this reality. Various groups are putting more focus on intentionally and effectively distributing information by, for example, hiring an impact producer, or trying to at least make that a skillset carried by someone within the team.

We see some of our grantees partnering up with different kinds of stakeholders to make sure that publications can reach those affected by the investigation topic, or those who can affect social change. It makes me hopeful to see these efforts succeed in reaching relevant and broader audiences and showcase why journalism in itself continues to be really relevant.

How do you assess the success of your programs? Is there a particular success story you can share?

 We assess the success of our partnerships by keeping an eye on the objectives that are set at the very beginning. We do this in three areas: the substantive work and impact of the organisation, organisational development objectives, and objectives around the way we work together.

What we really focus on in these partnerships is seeing how organisations become stronger so that their expertise can flourish. When I look at the journalism portfolio specifically, the primary success indicator is relevant quality information in the public interest being produced and making an impact.

We look for creative and effective ways of reaching different kinds of audiences. We don’t have any specific audiences that we aim to serve ourselves, it’s rather following our partners and understanding what has been done differently per investigation to make sure that it’s not the same people behind the same paywalls that are receiving all the information.

Another aspect we look at is the kind of role our grantees play within the information ecosystem: what they manage to contribute within their own network. Think of organisations that develop a new kind of methodology, or a tool that helps others investigate stories in a different way, or organisations that have discovered a new way of creating information. For example, Bellingcat really revolutionised how OSINT can be part of investigations. They have inspired not only other nonprofits, but even legacy media, to adapt their entire newsroom to include this way of collecting information and producing new content.

Another example of changing the information ecosystem is Forbidden Stories, which also influences the incentive of why a story is being investigated, making solidarity a key incentive to continue the investigation of a silenced journalist and hopefully deter future threats to journalists. We also have some grantees, such as The Examination, who are experimenting with how better collaborative models can be developed. This includes providing support to their investigative partners so that the collaboration works better for everyone.

To mention an example of success, I could share Lighthouse Reports’ work. About two years ago, they published an investigation with local journalists in the Netherlands on an algorithm which was used by the municipality in Rotterdam to flag potential fraudsters in welfare support. It turned out that this algorithm was actually targeting migrants, specifically single mothers. Because they managed to reveal this, in the end the municipality decided to stop using the algorithm. But what was also very interesting to follow in this example was that Lighthouse Reports did not only collaborate with local partners who then published behind paywalls, but also managed to distribute the information in a way that it reached the people who the investigation was about, the single mothers. I think this is a really striking example that shows how you can make sure that the information doesn’t only reach the same audience which can afford to consume news.

What were the biggest challenges that you have had to overcome or that you still struggle with?

 One that I think we will continue to struggle with is the unpredictability of the funding landscape. There are a couple of funders that are very stable and consistent with their strategies and provide multi-annual support. But what’s out there is not enough to allow our partner networks to really strategise and think about how they are going to become stronger and more futureproof.

The fact that the largest global funder, the US, has cut its global development support in many areas, including journalism, just brought this to a whole new level. There are so many organisations that are now either shutting down or going through their reserves. The entire ecosystem is quite vulnerable at the moment. It made very clear that there was an over-dependency on US public funding in Central and Eastern Europe. Even for organisations who had successfully diversified their funding streams, it turned out that some of the intermediaries they were relying on were also dependent on US funding. We saw organisations that went from having five funders to having none.

One of the biggest challenges we’re about to face due to these funding cuts is that national newsrooms are going to shut down in certain countries where no independent quality information is going to be produced anymore. Or it’s going to be small and competing with unintentional or intentional undermining factors, like disinformation and misinformation. The watchdog role of these outlets will be weakened, and quality information will be reaching less people, thus not informing decision-making. This is something that we are really going to feel in the future.

Do you have any special advice for organisations that have not funded or supported journalism yet, but are thinking about doing so?

 It is crucial to have a healthy information ecosystem to support your line of work, regardless of what your foundation focuses on. If you are a foundation that works on broad topics, like democracy, the environment, or social change, the production of information is going to be crucial in the success of your strategy.

Within this whole information ecosystem, I don’t think we all have to do the same thing. What is important is that we complement each other. As one of our grantee partners recently said, a healthy democracy needs media plurality, but it is also crucial to have plurality in the strategies of funders. We should not all jump on the same thing. We need funders who focus on the local level, on the national level, the regional level, and the international level. We need funders who focus on cross-border investigative journalism, but we also need funders who focus on other forms of public interest journalism. We need funders who focus on supporting the ecosystem or the infrastructure that enables information production, funders who support conferences or training, who support FOI requests of journalists. Then we need funders who support press freedom more broadly, who ensure that there are emergency mechanisms that can support journalists being attacked for the impactful work they do.

So there is a lot to support in this space, and there are different ways of starting to experiment with this. If you make your first grant in journalism, you don’t have to have a full strategy right away. You can take your time in building that up.

We, as funders, need to be in conversation about how we are going to complement each other. I’m not inherently opposed to having thematic funding either, as long as it’s not extremely short term and not overly restricted. In places like the Journalism Funders Forum and other informal settings where funders inform each other and exchange ideas, there are plenty of lessons, but there’s also plenty of inspiration to discuss these questions.

TikTok has been rapidly emerging as a major news source, particularly for younger audiences. Its preference for relatable, personality-driven content offers new opportunities for newsrooms to increase their reach among these younger age groups – but also comes with challenges.

TikTok’s Growing Influence in News Consumption

At the start of April 2025, there were 5.31 billion social media users globally, 64.7% of the world’s population. Among all platforms, TikTok now ranks fifth and continues to grow rapidly. The 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report (DNR) identified TikTok as one of the fastest-rising platforms for news engagement, particularly among young users. Furthermore, Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 24) spend a significant amount of time, an average of 77 minutes per day, on the app. According to a fresh study by the Thomson Foundation and the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC), it has all but taken over in Romania, where 47% of the population uses it – the highest proportion in the EU.

TikTok is now much more than dance trends or weird challenges. It has become too big to ignore. “News media have to follow where the audiences are,” says Ali Mahmood, Audience Revenue and Engagement Expert at FatChilli for Publishers. “Algorithmic distribution is now the reality for a significant segment of the news-consuming population.”

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, audience preferences have shifted toward video-based platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, which have grown in importance as news sources. The DNR notes that 13% of respondents now use TikTok for news, surpassing X (formerly Twitter). Among younger audiences, this shift is even more significant. As Freddy Tran Nager, Clinical Associate Professor at USC Annenberg, points out, around 40% of young people now get their news from TikTok, though this comes with risks, as there is a lot of misinformation on the platform. He believes that it is the responsibility of professional journalists to provide credible information.

The Thomson-MJRC study found that only 9.9% of Romanian teens follow journalists, highlighting a shifting ecosystem shaped by influencers rather than traditional newsrooms. Mahmood stresses that with the growing influence of news-focused content creators, “you don’t want to be left out and have people (mis)informed only by them.”

However, as younger users are less likely to trust institutions than individuals, both he and Nager agree that news brands must be represented by real people to successfully connect with audiences. “They need a face,” Nager emphasises. Furthermore, according to a study by Zinc Network, presented at the Central European Media Trends conference in Warsaw in December, the majority of paying subscribers regularly seek out news content from identifiable personalities such as journalists, influencers, and podcast hosts, showing a strong preference for personality-driven content.

Still, TikTok also offers an opportunity to increase brand awareness. For many young adults, it may be the first platform where they encounter a news brand.

How Newsrooms Are Adapting

Across Europe, many news executives have been grappling with how to make their outlets relevant to younger audiences, and there are many examples of successfully turning to TikTok. Spanish start-up Ac2ality quickly became one of the pioneers when its founder, Daniela McArena, realised that traditional news sources lacked context and clarity for younger readers. Ac2ality set out to deliver news in a “quick, concise and comprehensive manner,” tailored specifically for Gen Z on TikTok.

A similar success story unfolded in France where Hugo Travers, known online as Hugo Décrypte, has become a leading news source for young people. There are  also promising examples from Central and Eastern Europe. Mahmood points to Romania’s Project F, run by journalists from PressOne, which focuses on women’s issues and involves the audience directly by asking what topics interest them. In the Czech Republic, Czech News Center experimented with distributing sports journalism via TikTok, targeting content to Gen Z by focusing on sports relevant to them. After hiring a Gen Z journalist to ensure an authentic tone, the initiative exceeded expectations and is now inspiring other teams within the organisation.

Traditional outlets have also begun to adapt. BBC News created a dedicated TikTok team, while The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal use the platform to reach new readers, even without monetisation. As Erika Marzano, Deutsche Welle’s Audience Development Manager argues, “TikTok has evolved from a platform of minimal output to one where posting at least once daily is necessary for growth.”

To connect with TikTok audiences, authenticity and relatability are essential. Mahmood emphasises that successful content addresses the audience’s real information needs. Rather than merely echoing existing coverage, journalists should offer explanation, context, and a human touch. “You have to be relatable,” he says, adding that journalists don’t need expensive equipment: a smartphone is enough, what matters is engaging storytelling. Seemingly casual, lo-fi content often garners more trust on the platform than polished productions.

Nager highlights that young audiences expect creators to have a visible personality. “It is not good to be neutral,” he argues. Showing emotion in a professionally restrained way, and being open about one’s perspective, can actually increase credibility. Encouraging reporters to be transparent, vulnerable, and even share personal experiences can foster stronger connections. This also means, according to Nager, that TikTok is not for everyone: journalists should not feel pressured to perform on the platform if it doesn’t suit their strengths. Ultimately, success comes from being real, not rehearsed.

Navigating the Algorithm

TikTok’s algorithm creates a highly personalised feed for each user, meaning no two people see the same content. This makes it difficult to know what kind of news others are encountering. Nager notes that creators must be patient as early videos may get little attention, and even followers might not see every post, as distribution is driven by the algorithm.

As many of the users are on the platform to learn something, he suggests using short, context-rich explainers to engage them and create a bridge to other platforms, such as websites or newsletters, adding that “one email address is worth 100 followers.” However, Mahmood cautions against pushing audiences to leave TikTok. As he points out, users are deeply engaged on the platform and attempts to redirect them may not be successful. Instead, success lies in adapting content to how users prefer to consume information within the app itself.

As digital journalist and TikTok creator Sophia Smith Galer advises, consistency is key: regular posting helps content appear on users’ For You pages rather than relying on follower shares. Journalists should return to and evolve their niche while actively engaging with users through comments. Originality also matters: TikTok content must be authentic, personal, and designed specifically for the platform, not recycled from traditional media.

TikTok is often misunderstood as a passive, entertainment-first platform, but research from Weber Shandwick shows that its users are highly engaged, with the comments section serving as a space for learning, fact-checking, and interpretation. This has important implications for newsrooms. As Mahmood points out, TikTok should not be treated as a traditional marketing channel where one simply posts a video and adds a link. Instead, active engagement is key: if a comment attracts significant attention, it can serve as the basis for a follow-up video.

Nager agrees that meaningful interaction boosts visibility on the platform but cautions journalists to avoid engaging with commenters with antagonistic intent. He also notes that the algorithm rewards both engagement and regular content output, so creators should be mindful of their time.

Collaborating with content creators who already have a large follower base can help news organisations build credibility and reach on TikTok. However, Nager stresses the importance of vetting collaborators carefully. He recommends working with professionals who already use TikTok responsibly. Mahmood adds that successful partnerships require mutual understanding and benefit. While some fear reputational risks, he argues that collaboration is similar to recruitment: it simply requires proper due diligence.

Balancing Engagement and Risk

While TikTok offers promising opportunities for audience growth, it also comes with risks. One main concern is misinformation: the platform does not prevent the spread of inaccurate content. This is especially troubling given that 27% of TikTok users say they struggle to assess the trustworthiness of news they see – more than on any other platform.

There is also the danger of over-reliance. News organisations may risk repeating the same mistakes made with Facebook, where dependency on a single platform left them vulnerable to algorithmic shifts.

Nager advises treating TikTok as one of several options, not the only one, highlighting other viable channels such as YouTube, Instagram, BlueSky, or newsletters. Still, as the Zinc Network study suggests that those most likely to pay for news tend to use multiple platforms, it is an opportunity that media outlets would be wise to explore.

Veronika Munk, Director of Innovation and New Markets at Denník N, shares insights into the outlet’s recent, highly successful campaign.

In just two weeks, we gained 24,000 new subscribers, bringing our total to more than 90,000. Even writing that number feels overwhelming. These people chose quality journalism in a world that is turning upside down – where audiences are tuning out of news, major platforms dominate and distort media markets, and anti-democratic governments are advancing, often treating independent media with hostility, even paralysing it in some regions.

Denník N is one of the market leading Slovak independent news outlets, reaching 1-1,5 million readers every month, operating with a 130 strong staff, being the largest newsroom in Slovakia. We focus primarily on in-depth, investigative, explanatory journalism in text, audio, and video, and fast short news service. We also publish a print daily, monthly educational magazines, and books.

“We are 10 years old, looking to the future, and searching for another 10,000 people who care about it.”

That was our message for our 10th birthday – and it worked.

Our 10-years anniversary campaign

We launched this campaign to celebrate Denník N’s 10th anniversary with the goal of bringing in 10,000 new subscribers. To mark the occasion, we let them bypass the fixed subscription fee and instead choose their own contribution for a 10-week trial period – however much they felt was fair for reading, watching, and listening to Denník N.

But our value proposition was more than just, “Come, get it cheaper.”

We invited our 70,000 existing subscribers to help strengthen the country and its fragile democratic system. Our request? Convince at least one friend to try Denník N for 10 weeks, and in return, we pledged to fulfil 10 key promises – each designed to make Slovakia, and European democracy at large, a better place.

Our 10 promises to Slovakia

If we reached 10,000 new subscribers, we committed to:

1. Unlocking all content published in Denník N’s first 10 years.
2. Giving a free subscription to all future first-time voters.
3. Producing significantly more free, short videos on social media.
4. Sending free print editions to all senior homes and senior clubs.
5. Conducting 100 interviews with people who haven’t given up on Slovakia.
6. Publishing special print editions dedicated to at least five Slovak regions.
7. Offering our video content for free to TV broadcasters.
8. Organising lectures on the dangers of social media for 10,000 students.
9. Launching a training programme for young journalists.
10. Dedicating 10 million ad impressions to organisations that improve Slovakia.

What we learned: 5 key takeaways for the industry

1. People will invest in a better future if you ask them directly.

Audiences care about their own future and believe in free media – but they need to be invited to take part in its operation. When framed as a collective effort, people respond.

2. Your existing audience is your valuable recruiter.

We successfully mobilised our current subscribers (and even newsroom members) to recruit new subscribers – a method proven effective by Zetland (Denmark) and Direkt36 (Hungary). We took it further with gamification: on our site, every participant could track in real-time how many subscribers had joined thanks to their recommendation. Our most successful subscriber-influencer brought us 372 new subscribers – for free.

3. People will pay for a good cause and high-quality service – especially when combined.

We told readers they could pay any amount for their 10-week subscription. Only 22% chose the free option, proving that people are willing to contribute if they believe in the mission and see value in the product.

4. The right promises make all the difference.

We spent months crafting the right commitments – pledging initiatives that served a clear public interest (such as supporting first-time voters or fact-based journalism), and also that added value to our core mission of delivering high-quality content.

5. Social media can work – when used strategically.

Slovak influencers helped amplify our campaign on Instagram and Facebook. We also used ManyChat, a chatbot and marketing automation platform, to create direct, personalised connections with users who showed interest in subscribing.

The next challenge: Retention

I could say that after thorough strategic planning, we expected exactly 24,000 new subscribers, but that wouldn’t be true. We had a plan, yes, but the plan was to reach 10,000 entirely new subscribers in ten weeks – and if we didn’t, we would shut down the campaign after six weeks. In the end, we hit the 10,000 mark in just four days, and after two weeks, we had 24,366 new subscribers. Only 22% of them chose to pay nothing for the 10-week subscription.

The trial period ends in April, and churn is inevitable – industry benchmarks suggest we might lose around 70% of our new subscribers.

Our main task now is convincing them to stay. And our most powerful tool? Quality journalism – the ultimate marketing asset. Moreover, thanks to their registrations, we are able to remain in contact with tens of thousands of new readers, giving us a direct line to continue proving our value. If we manage to retain one third of them in the long term, it will still be the most successful thing we have ever done, and successful by reader revenue business standards in Central-Eastern Europe.

I believe this campaign wasn’t just about subscriber growth – it was a statement. It proved that people still value quality journalism, that they’re willing to pay for it, and that strong reader communities can be mobilised to protect independent media.

The challenge for all of us in the industry is clear: we must continue proving that journalism is worth supporting by making it indispensable, by making it participatory, and by making it a cause people want to invest in.

The rise of generative AI, particularly since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, has revolutionised journalism by making AI tools accessible to the general public, including journalists. However, it does not only reshape journalism workflows but also presents a critical opportunity for journalism funders to support innovation and ethical AI adoption, ensuring that newsrooms are equipped to navigate this transformation responsibly and effectively.

While earlier research focused on automated journalism, the mainstream adoption of generative AI has prompted fresh ethical debates and newsroom discussions about oversight and guidelines. However, many journalists have independently experimented with these tools, using them to simplify and enhance their work without compromising journalistic values.

Based on interviews with journalists in Singapore, an AI-forward global hub, generative AI has introduced a cultural shift, enabling journalists to adopt new technologies despite challenges like limited resources, ethical concerns, and structural misalignments. The findings propose a “value-motivated use” perspective, emphasising how AI can support good journalism without replacing its core principles. Journalists have a role as active participants in reshaping the field, offering insights for educators, scholars, and practitioners.

Journalists are increasingly integrating AI tools into their work, using them across various stages of news production. AI proves especially helpful in gathering information by suggesting potential answers, locating sources, and identifying trends. Tools such as ChatGPT allow journalists to quickly narrow down reliable information, which they verify through traditional methods like cross-checking with trusted sources. AI assists in generating interview questions and transcribing interviews, often improving accuracy over time through machine learning.

When it comes to writing and presenting news, journalists often use AI to create drafts of straightforward stories, based on press releases or weather announcements, among others, and to simplify or translate complex ideas. Applications like Hemingway Editor refine text by improving clarity and conciseness. AI also helps generate headlines and summaries tailored for online engagement, though journalists generally edit these outputs to ensure quality and alignment with their style. Beyond text, AI supports creating visuals and coding assistance, offering suggestions for graphics or blocks of code to speed up production. However, journalists maintain creative control, ensuring AI-generated content aligns with their editorial vision.

AI is also employed in editing by identifying gaps or biases in stories, helping reporters consider perspectives that might otherwise be overlooked, and checking facts. It streamlines grammar corrections and word count adjustments, although the final phase of editing is always done by humans. In news promotion, AI helps locate related articles for cross-promotion and generates social media captions, though these often require further human refinement to match professional standards.

While AI boosts efficiency and productivity, journalists remain cautious about its limitations. Many stress the importance of verifying AI output, as it can omit key information, hallucinate false facts, or present biased perspectives. The opacity of AI processes, such as the sources it relies on, adds to this scepticism. Journalists also voice concerns about ethical considerations, such as whether AI compromises their integrity when contributing to their work. They believe human oversight is crucial to maintain the core values of journalism, including truthfulness, accuracy, transparency, balance, and integrity. Without this oversight, there is a risk of spreading misinformation or perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

Despite these reservations, journalists recognise AI’s potential to enhance their work when used responsibly. They emphasise that AI should complement, not replace, human decision-making and creativity. Ultimately, journalists prioritise their professional values when deciding how to integrate AI into their workflows.

Wu, S. (2024). Journalists as individual users of artificial intelligence: Examining journalists’ “value-motivated use” of ChatGPT and other AI tools within and without the newsroom. Journalism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241303047

In March 2024, a consortium of seven media organisations and a media-focused technology provider launched the Taktak project, with the objective of developing an innovative donation solution, supported by the European Commission. The initiative addresses a fundamental challenge facing modern journalism: the need to identify sustainable revenue sources in the context of evolving consumption patterns and the adverse circumstances faced by freelance journalists. It introduces an innovative approach to donations, whereby readers can decide which organisations to support.

The concept for Taktak was developed by Worldcrunch, a Paris-based digital magazine known for its work with international partners. Lucie Holeček, a design-thinking expert and consultant on the project at Transitions Online, outlines that Worldcrunch’s distinctive collaborative model presented challenges that existing payment platforms were unable to accommodate. As Worldcrunch frequently translates and shares articles with various international media partners, a key challenge emerged in relation to the allocation of donation revenue across contributors. “None of the existing payment solutions worked,” Holeček states, adding that a new approach was needed to ensure funds were distributed fairly among all parties involved.

The Taktak project represents a convergence of three key developments in the journalism sector. Firstly, the initial research phases revealed significant problems faced by journalists, particularly freelancers, in terms of job stability, financial security and stress levels. “We were aware of the difficulties, but not to this extent,” Holeček recalls. Secondly, there is significant untapped potential for joint reporting efforts across languages and borders, which could enhance the scope and reach of journalism. Finally, there is an increasing need to generate direct revenue from the audience.

The Taktak consortium, formed by Worldcrunch, comprises an impressive array of local, national, and international media outlets, which are coming together to explore these opportunities. The consortium includes Mensagem, which provides local news in Lisbon; Pod Tepeto, a media outlet based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria; La Marea, a Spanish publication; and Livy Bereg, a Ukrainian news source. The platform’s geographic diversity and the difference in scale between its members enables it to address the needs of journalists and readers at multiple levels, from the hyper-local to the transnational. The involvement of these media groups also benefits younger journalists, who are facing an increasingly unstable job market and income situation. The consortium’s reach is extended further through the inclusion of WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, and Transitions Online, both of which have extensive networks within the journalism community.

Taktak is currently a closed consortium, funded by an investment of €1,376,040 over two years. Eighty percent of this funding, totalling €1,100,832, is provided by the European Commission under the Journalism Partnerships Collaboration call. The remaining 20% is provided by the Taktak partners themselves. “The funding goes toward creating the tool,” said Holeček. She adds that the tool is currently in development and will support various types of content, including articles and podcasts, with options for transparent payment distribution. The tool enables readers to make donations and to see precisely where their contributions are being allocated. This transparency is a key element of the project’s value proposition for donors, as it builds trust.

One of the distinctive features of Taktak is its flexibility. Readers are able to select the total donation amount, while collaborating journalists can choose the ratio of how it is shared. Holeček states that Taktak’s donation model provides an alternative to the fatigue that many readers feel with multiple subscriptions. This new solution offers flexibility, allowing readers to give money without any obligation. They can simply indicate their appreciation for an article and choose to support the publication directly. This approach is particularly beneficial for freelancers, who might otherwise be excluded from revenue-sharing models even when their work is particularly successful.

Taktak’s primary objectives extend beyond the mere creation of a new revenue stream. They also encompass the fostering of collaboration across media, the promotion of diverse voices, the growth of reader engagement, and the encouragement of a more resilient journalism sector. Taktak’s donation-based model encourages journalists and media organisations to commit to quality, in-depth coverage that resonates with readers, with the aim of creating a mutually beneficial relationship. The platform’s secondary objectives include facilitating the sharing of best practices and insights among media outlets, which can ultimately benefit the wider sector.

The tool is currently in the development stage and has been designed with the objective of collecting payments efficiently while distributing them fairly. The tool is essentially a flexible ‘donate’ button that allows readers to decide how much to give to each party involved in the content’s creation. This flexibility addresses a market gap for direct support of journalists, particularly in cases where readers wish to contribute without committing to a full subscription. As Holeček explains, the objective is to make the process “as flexible as possible”, offering financial support to journalists facing financial difficulties who might otherwise go unrewarded.

The first prototype of the Taktak tool is scheduled for release in 2025, following which it will undergo further refinement based on feedback. Holeček emphasises that, while the eventual aim is to roll out Taktak across Europe, the team is mindful of the regional nuances involved. “Every country is specific,” she states, citing differences in consumer attitudes towards paying for news content and in regulatory frameworks. The consortium’s approach to scaling will be strategic and tailored to the specific needs and context of each market.

Defector, a for-profit, employee-owned news organisation, has successfully balanced its economic viability with its journalistic values—an achievement many news outlets struggle to attain. Founded in 2020 by former journalists from the sports blog Deadspin, Defector has distinguished itself with its employee-owned cooperative model and its rare economic success.

Traditionally, US journalism’s financial model has been anchored in the “dual-product model,” where news organisations generated revenue by selling content to the public and selling the public’s attention to advertisers. However, with the rise of the internet, this model has faced significant disruptions, prompting a search for new revenue streams.

One proposed solution has been audience engagement, which involves news organisations interacting with their audiences, mainly focusing on diverse and marginalised communities. This idea has been championed by some as a moral obligation and a potential source of revenue. For instance, studies have suggested that engaging with marginalised communities can lead to new financial support for news organisations. The Columbia Journalism Review has also noted that more engaged audiences tend to contribute more financially. This optimism is based on the belief that, as journalism shifts towards direct audience support, engagement activities will become essential in building and sustaining these audiences, thereby increasing revenue potential.

However, there is scepticism regarding the effectiveness of engagement activities as a revenue strategy. Critics argue that, while engagement might foster a sense of community, there is little empirical evidence to support the notion that it leads to economic success. Moreover, some contend that the focus on engagement, especially through web metrics, can harm journalism’s financial health by encouraging the pursuit of viral content at the expense of long-term loyalty and viability.

Defector serves as a compelling case study in this debate. Its success is closely linked to its emphasis on audience engagement, particularly through its comments section, which plays a central role in both community building and economic gain.

Defector’s business model features a tiered subscription system, with a notable portion of subscribers opting for the more expensive tier that grants access to engagement activities like commenting. This indicates that a significant number of subscribers are willing to pay a premium for the ability to engage with the community, suggesting that Defector’s economic success is indeed tied to its engagement practices.

Defector’s engagement activities, including an active comments section, Q&A sessions, and interactive events, contribute to its community-building efforts and financial stability. The comments section, in particular, is highlighted as a key engagement tool. It encourages subscribers to interact not only with the content, but also with each other, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability among users. This self-moderation helps maintain a civil and constructive discourse, contrasting with the often-toxic environments found in free-to-access comments sections on other sites.

In addition to the comments section, Defector regularly hosts Q&A sessions and events on platforms like Twitch, where journalists engage with subscribers in a more informal, personal manner. This helps journalists better understand their audience and solidifies the bond between the staff and the community, creating a sense of belonging that goes beyond the typical journalist-reader relationship.

Three key factors contributing to Defector’s success can be identified: positive engagement, a strong sense of community, and delivering clear value to subscribers. The positive environment fostered by the site’s paywall ensures that those who participate are genuinely interested in the content, benefitting both subscribers and journalists. This sense of community, carried over from Deadspin, is intentionally cultivated and has led to a loyal subscriber base willing to pay for premium engagement opportunities. Finally, Defector’s success is also attributed to the high quality of its content, which subscribers view as worth paying for, ensuring that engagement efforts are not just superficial, but are tied to delivering real value.

While Defector’s model is not universally applicable, especially given its niche focus on sports and culture and its roots in Deadspin, it offers valuable insights for other news organisations. By centring their business models around their audience, news organisations can potentially achieve a better balance between economic stability and journalistic ideals. However, there is still a need for further research to explore how Defector’s model can be adapted or replicated in different contexts, particularly in understanding the perception of its audience and how this contributes to its success.

Ferrucci, P. (2024). Engagement as Revenue in Journalism: Turning Community, Comments, and Access into Economic Viability. Journalism Studies, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2380713

With local journalism in crisis, more and more cities are beginning to recognise the vital role of local news in building informed communities. An increasing number of initiatives launched by city councils reflect a growing commitment to sustaining local journalism.

Local journalism is facing a significant crisis, with newsrooms closing down at an alarming rate and leaving communities in news deserts, areas where there is little to no local news coverage. The repercussions of this decline extend far beyond the news industry, impacting local democracy, civic engagement, and even public finance.

Local journalism serves several critical functions within a community. It acts as a watchdog not only for government accountability, but also for the private sector, encouraging adherence to laws and regulations. It is also an effective tool for city governments to disseminate public notices and information on various topics.

Furthermore, as Tarsi Dunlop, Senior Program Officer, the German Marshall Fund’s Cities programme argues, local journalism helps people engage in their communities and bolster trust in local institutions. As cities consider their public reputation, supporting strong local news and prioritising active engagement suggests a willingness to be scrutinised and held accountable. An informed community is vital, as it helps local officials be more effective in their work. In addition, local news benefits cities more broadly by covering arts, culture, or local businesses, and providing reliable information during crises related to public health or safety, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or natural disasters. Ideally, local journalism also helps ensure that different communities and their lived experiences are represented, giving a voice to those less likely to be heard.

At the same time, a lack of local journalism is associated with less informed voters, lower voter turnout, and has even been linked to increased borrowing costs for local governments, as the lack of media scrutiny leads to reduced trust and higher perceived risks among investors.

Recognising these challenges, some cities have begun to take proactive steps to support local news media. Across Europe and the United States, supported is offered through various approaches, including direct financial aid, service contracts, and public policy measures. These efforts are diverse, but they all share a common goal: to sustain local journalism.

One form of support is direct funding to media outlets.  Lisbon, for example, has revised its municipal statutes this year to allow city agencies to fund local journalism projects directly. This initiative aims to bolster the local news ecosystem by providing financial support to media outlets that serve the community.

Similarly, the Vienna Media Initiative, a funding programme launched by the City of Vienna in 2020, provides substantial funding to support quality journalism and innovation within the media landscape. With a budget of 16 million euros until 2025, the programme supports self-employed journalists and small media companies through two funding schemes, offering grants of up to 10,000 euros or 100,000 euros respectively. An international jury evaluates applications based on criteria such as journalistic quality, innovation, and sustainability. Funded teams receive additional support through workshops.

In the United States, direct funding takes various forms. For example, New York City recently issued an executive order requiring city agencies to allocate half of their advertising budgets to local press, Dunlop explains. Washington, DC has introduced the Local News Funding Act, which would dedicate 0.1 percent of the city council’s annual budget to supporting local news coverage. This funding would be distributed as coupons given to registered voters, allowing them to choose a local news outlet from which to receive free content, whether it’s a newspaper, podcast, blog, or newsletter.

Another method of support comes through service contracts. Some cities, such as Chicago and Seattle, provide financial support to local media through service contracts, Dunlop says. For instance, the City Bureau of Chicago, a nonprofit civic media organisation, was contracted for note-taking services, while in Seattle, if the city needs content production, they may submit a proposal to Converge Media, a local news organisation. These contracts offer a way to financially support independent media without raising suspicion of influencing the news coverage.

In addition to these financial strategies, public policy measures have also been introduced at the state level. States like New Mexico, New Jersey, and California, have implemented public policies such as journalism fellowships and tax credits for newspaper subscriptions, to bolster local reporting and address the decline in local news outlets. Wisconsin and Illinois are also considering similar legislation.

In the summer of 2023, amidst ongoing debates on artificial intelligence’s cultural and economic impact, the American Journalism Project (AJP) announced a partnership with OpenAI. This collaboration aimed to provide funding for the innovative use of AI in local newsrooms. Although OpenAI’s donation of US$10 million was smaller than recent contributions from Meta and Google, it marked a significant moment where a leading technology company sought to support the news industry through philanthropy.

Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project, emphasised the opportunity to involve local news organisations in shaping the implications of generative AI. She highlighted the dual role of venture philanthropists in both fostering innovation and mitigating the financial decline of local news. AJP is part of a broader movement of venture philanthropy programmes, including the Google News Initiative and Meta Journalism Project, which are increasingly influential in journalism. These organisations position themselves as key players in revitalising local journalism through entrepreneurial ideologies and market-oriented solutions.

Venture philanthropists frame the crisis in local news as an opportunity for innovation, portraying themselves as essential in matching financial resources with deserving organisations. They argue that their investments can achieve sustainability and growth in local news where market forces have failed. John Thornton, a co-founder of AJP, compared venture philanthropy to venture capital, suggesting that these funds are necessary to support mission-driven news organisations.

This approach links financial growth directly to the success of local journalism, positioning revenue generation as a critical measure of success. AJP’s impact report claims that their grantees generally grow significantly in revenue, suggesting that venture philanthropy can address market failures in local journalism. However, critics note that much of this funding tends to benefit already affluent communities, raising questions about the equitable distribution of resources.

Venture philanthropists also play a crucial role in disseminating practical knowledge and technical capabilities in journalism. They offer training, best practice guides, and case studies to help news organisations integrate new technologies and business strategies. For example, the Google News Initiative supports projects like the Post and Courier’s use of Google Analytics to develop paid newsletters, demonstrating how local newsrooms can adopt innovative practices to drive revenue growth.

The influence of venture philanthropy also extends beyond financial support, to shaping the discourse around journalism’s future. These organisations produce significant discussion about journalism, promoting their own role as arbiters of change and innovation. They position themselves as knowledgeable experts who understand how to best use available philanthropic capital to achieve sustainability in journalism.

The discourse of venture philanthropy often merges financial and public missions, suggesting that market-oriented strategies can serve the public interest. For instance, Elizabeth Green, co-founder of AJP, stressed the need for expert teams to raise diverse revenue and develop strategic leadership within local news organisations. This framing implies that financial sustainability and public mission are intertwined and that successful organisations must navigate market realities to fulfil their public roles.

Venture philanthropy organisations also respond to journalism critiques, such as the need for diversity and equity, by framing these issues as mission and business goals. They highlight successful examples of integrating diversity into their product and audience development strategies, suggesting that these efforts can attract philanthropic funding.

According to this study, venture philanthropy’s blending of financial concerns with public mission creates a powerful discourse that shapes how resources are directed in journalism. While some critics argue for increased public and government support for local journalism, venture philanthropists present a compelling alternative by leveraging market-driven innovation and philanthropic capital to address the ongoing crises that the industry has been facing for more than a decade.

Creech, B. (2024). Venture Philanthropy, Local News, and the Murky Promise of Innovation. Media and Communication, 12. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.7496

Reaching young people has become a strategic priority for Public Service Media (PSM) in many Western countries, as these organisations face challenges in engaging those audiences with the news. To expand their reach, PSM organisations often rely on social media platforms. However, this reliance creates dependencies on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. These platforms are driven by commercial interests, leading to datafication and algorithmic filtering, which do not align with the values driving PSM, such as universality, independence, diversity, and accountability. As gatekeepers, these platforms significantly influence news dissemination, posing challenges to journalistic integrity and PSM’s core ideals. These concerns are particularly relevant given the central role of digital intermediaries in reaching youth.

This study focuses on the Norwegian Broadcasting Company (NRK), Norway’s public service media (PSM) organisation, and its efforts to target young audiences on Snapchat. Despite the global popularity of TikTok, Snapchat remains a major platform in Norway, particularly among young adults. As scholarly research on how newsrooms navigate Snapchat’s rules and metrics for disseminating news is limited, this study aims to fill that gap by exploring how journalists produce news for Snapchat, while adhering to PSM obligations and examining the implications for content dissemination and audience reach.

The research uncovers complex gatekeeping processes throughout the publication process, referred to as “dynamic gatekeeping,” in which journalists navigate Snapchat’s algorithmic gatekeeping. This involves interpreting audience metrics, adhering to Snapchat’s guidelines, and responding to audience reactions as seen in analytics. NRK’s news flow on Snapchat involves a reciprocal relationship between journalistic decisions and platform algorithms. The study identifies three key gate-keeping stages: pre-publication, publication-stage, and post-publication.

In the pre-publication phase, journalists at NRK UNG (NRK Youth) use Snapchat metrics from the Story Studio to prioritise and produce news stories. This data provides detailed information about the audience and influences decisions on news topic selection and presentation. The goal is to maximise engagement from the target youth demographic. The newsroom monitors metrics such as click-through rates, reading times, and audience demographics. They adjust the content to align with audience preferences and algorithmic influences. Despite relying on these metrics, journalists argue that they prioritise independent editorial decisions based on news values and ethics.

During the publication stage, Snapchat’s algorithms directly influence the selection of “tiles” (front page visuals for Snapchat editions) through ABCD testing. This testing helps determine which tile will engage the audience most effectively, influencing the prominence of specific stories. The newsroom creates multiple tiles for each story and uses algorithmic feedback to improve future editions. This process highlights the interplay between the platform’s algorithmic decisions and journalistic content creation.

Post-publication, Snapchat’s flagging system enforces community guidelines by restricting the dissemination of content deemed inappropriate. This flagging often frustrates journalists, as it limits the reach of what they believe to be important stories. Violations, such as those related to graphic content or commercial elements, result in flagged stories that only reach existing subscribers. Journalists adapt by modifying content to avoid flagging but express concerns about the inconsistent enforcement of guidelines and its impact on editorial integrity.

The study examines the complex and ever-changing relationship between PSM journalists and Snapchat’s algorithmic gatekeeping. It underscores the difficulties of upholding journalistic independence while reaching out to younger audiences on external platforms. These findings call for careful consideration of the implications for PSM’s editorial autonomy and the credibility of their news coverage. As PSM organisations grapple with these challenges, the study recommends additional research into the broader effects of platform algorithms on journalistic methods.

Røsok-Dahl, H., & Kristine Olsen, R. (2024). Snapping the news: Dynamic gatekeeping in a public service media newsroom reaching young people with news on Snapchat. Journalism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241255701