Newsletter

Robert Brestan, Editor-in-Chief of HlidaciPes.org explains why independent news organisations need donor funding, and shares insights about how grantees think about such projects.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Quality, responsible and independent journalism cannot be done without money. The fact that a journalist is well (i.e. adequately) paid also determines the degree of his or her self-confidence, assertiveness and control vis-à-vis the powerful and often the rich.

This is just to begin with, to clarify our positions. Money is simply crucial, and it is impossible not to see that the crisis of media funding is being addressed practically all over the world. Advertising is declining, readers have gotten used to not paying for content, they often make do with just “information” from social media, or they don’t really want to bother with news anymore. 

But what to do about it then? In our project HlidaciPes.org, a Czech independent analytical-investigative website, we decided that we don’t want to go the way of the paywall. Although for some media it is a legitimate and functional way, we feel that writing for a narrow circle of subscribers only, persuading the already convinced and addressing only like-minded people is not the right journalistic approach.

Nevertheless, internet advertising generates only a small income for a medium of our size, just like direct support, such as voluntary donations, from readers, however much we appreciate it. That leaves only two relevant sources of income: the first is a generous and enlightened donor and philanthropist who ideally supports the medium selflessly and asks for nothing in return, let alone has any say in its content. Fortunately, such an endangered species still exists, even if it is on the verge of extinction. I am pleased to say that our project has one such supporter, covering about a third of our annual budget.

And then there are various grants. I dare to say that their importance is growing, and without them many media would have disappeared. I am therefore pleased to be able to describe and explain one thought here: many grants to support journalism actually make practical life in newsrooms quite complicated. It may sound strange, but it is true. Topics just for grants are invented, editorial offices guess whether the evaluator will be interested in this or that story, they try to fit within the boundaries of the grant, and often end up spending time on something they didn’t really want to write about.

And then there are all those beautiful, and certainly well-intentioned, ideas of grant providers that the best thing about journalism is sharing experiences, organising various conferences, talks, and cross-border cooperation – it sounds quite nice, but believe me, it has little to do with real journalism. It takes away human, mental, and financial capacities and time from real work. It may be fine, but it’s just something extra – after the basic needs have been met.

What journalists of independent media really and acutely need is simply money to operate. In our case, for example, that means only one thing – money dedicated to a regular income for our writers and contributors to do what they do best: come up with original topics and write about important issues.

So if the grants are really to be precisely targeted and to support journalists and journalism, they should be grants for the day-to-day journalistic work: researching topics, verifying information, meeting the actors of important events, investigating and then writing articles, interviews, reports, analyses, etc. 

If you want to support journalism – and if you do, we appreciate it immensely – you can help it most by simplifying things along the lines of the following:

1. We (the donors) see/we know/we’ve verified that you’re doing honest and responsible journalistic work, and you meet the other conditions.
2. Tell us which topics you cover/want to cover, maybe even through international cooperation.
3. If you meet our criteria, we will send you money – not for sandwiches and coffee, not for conferences, not for sharing experiences, but for work.

If all grants looked like this, life would be much better. But not just for journalists. Everyone who understands the importance of independent media in a democratic and free society would be better off.