‘I’m playing the long game’: Journalists are striking out alone and discovering the business is toughest beat of all
Independent journalism is structurally viable for the first time. The infrastructure is there. The audiences are there. What’s lagging is business fluency, and journalists are learning it the hard way.
According to CNTI’s latest research, only three of 26 “indie info providers” — the report’s term for people delivering factual information via personality-driven brands — interviewed fully fund their lifestyle from their work. Nearly half (12) of those interviewed can’t cover it at all. Fewer than one in three has a developed business strategy.
“It is not one-way traffic with journalists leaving to become creators,” said Laura Darcey, research analyst at Enders Analysis. “Journalists that have grown up within legacy media can find new freedoms and monetization opportunities by branching out alone, but we’re not about to see a mass exodus. Journalists will find themselves competing in the broader attention and subscription economy where challenges of subscription fatigue and limited discretionary spending apply.”
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Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.