Non-profit journalism in Germany A survey on funding, safeguarding independence and working methods
By Sebastian Gall and Uwe Krüger | In the wake of digitalization and the economic media crisis, a new field of journalism has emerged aiming to compensate for the weaknesses of traditional news media: non-profit journalism. Instead of being financed by sales and advertising revenue (or broadcasting fees), it is primarily funded by small donations, membership fees or foundation money. However, the attempt to operate independent of market logics and to work solely in the public interest raises new questions, especially with regard to maintaining independence from donors. It also poses challenges for media organizations with regard to fundraising. This article uses ten guided interviews with employees of non-profit editorial offices to examine how their work differs from that of editorial offices financed by the private or public sector and what strategies they use to meet the above listed challenges. The results show 1) that the work differs positively from that of a traditional editorial office, especially relating to the choice of topics, research time and organizational structure; 2) that most of the organizations studied use only one type of funding; and 3) that the feared influence of large donors on content apparently does not take place, but that on the contrary, foundations supporting journalism are sometimes even more concerned about maintaining distance to the editorial offices than the other way around. At the same time, it should be noted that only few media organizations employ fundraisers, which means that this work falls onto the shoulders of management, editorial or layout staff.