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The 2021 membership in news fund COHORT

The Membership Puzzle Project launched the Membership in News Fund to help news organizations build strong and flexible relationships with their audience members that can drive greater sustainability and impact. Grant recipients receive funding, targeted coaching, access to a group of membership-adjacent topical experts, and an opportunity to join a global community of practice. The fund is supported by Luminate and implemented in partnership with the Media Development Investment Fund.

We received 219 applications from more than 25 countries for the 2021 cohort, and selected the 16 newsrooms below because of the strength of their existing relationships with their audience members, their enthusiasm about involving members as more than just a source of revenue, and their track records of innovation and experimentation grounded in curiosity about the communities they serve. 

This cohort covers a wide range of editorial approaches and geographies, from an Arab-language satirical newsroom to a Colombian podcast studio, from a hyperlocal newsroom in southwestern Zimbabwe to a legacy investigative newsroom in Indonesia. We’re excited about everything this cohort will learn, and teach the journalism industry, about how membership works – and doesn’t work – in a wide variety of political, social, and economic contexts. The Membership Puzzle Project will document their journeys and share case studies after the cohort concludes in summer 2021.

 

Our newsroom partners

444 – 444 is an independent Hungarian digital news organization that publishes news, on-the-ground reporting, analysis, and in-depth investigation journalism so that Hungarians can make informed decisions about their lives, health, and security. They launched their membership program in 2020, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy.

Agência Lupa – Agência Lupa is a Brazilian hub against misinformation that provides fact checked content for other media organizations and develops media literacy programs. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to deepen audience engagement and diversify their revenue sources through the launch of a membership program.

Alhudood– Alhudood is an Arab satirical news organization that uses humor to cover politics, social and economic trends, religion and sectarianism, and other critical issues. The Membership in News Fund will support the re-launch of their membership program, which was put on hold during the pandemic. 

BOOM (India) – BOOM (boomlive) is an India-based news organization that fights misinformation through fact checking, media literacy, and explanatory journalism in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to deepen audience engagement and diversify their revenue sources through the launch of a membership program.

CIPER – CIPER is a Chilean investigative news organization that strengthens democracy and promotes an informed public by making critical policy issues more accessible and developing tools to empower citizens. They launched their membership program in August 2019, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy.

Daily Trust – The Daily Trust is one of Nigeria’s largest daily news organizations. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to deepen audience engagement and diversify their revenue sources through the launch of a membership program. 

El Faro – El Faro is an investigative news organization covering Central America. They launched their membership program in 2017, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy. 

Global Voices – Global Voices is an international, multilingual community of writers, journalists, translators, academics, and digital rights and freedom of expression activists who cover issues and stories vital to their communities, primarily in the Global South. The Membership in News Fund will support the launch of a membership program to complement their Community Council and contributor network.

La No Ficción – La No Ficción is a Colombian podcast studio company that specializes in investigative storytelling. They launched their membership program in November 2019, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy. 

Mail & Guardian – The Mail & Guardian was founded at the height of apartheid to inform the South African public through quality journalism, and continues to set the news agenda and hold power to account. The Membership in News Fund will support the development of a membership strategy for their online opinion community, Thought Leader.

ShoTam – ShoTam is a Ukrainian news organization that produces constructive journalism in an effort to support social trust, cohesion, and civic engagement. They launched their membership program in 2020, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy. 

Tempo – Tempo is an independent Indonesian news organization that launched as a weekly magazine in 1971 and now publishes daily investigative and in-depth news coverage as well. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to deepen audience engagement and explore a membership strategy for Tempo.

The Citizen Bulletin – The Citizen Bulletin is a Zimbabwean nonprofit news organization that produces hard-hitting, hyperlocal reporting and analysis for the southwestern region of Matabeleland. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to build a loyal community around their news products and launch a membership program that matches the capacity of their audience members.

The News Minute – The News Minute is an Indian news organization that produces journalism about south India, from south India. They launched their membership program in 2020, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy.

The Ukrainians Media – The Ukrainians Media is a Ukrainian independent media ecosystem comprising a number of media projects (The Ukrainians, Reporters, Creatives, NZL, Chytanka) to shape proactive urban youth and facilitate positive social change through longread interviews and reporting. They launched their membership program in 2020, and the Membership in News Fund will support further development of their membership strategy. 

Volume – Volume is a podcasting company based in South Africa that produces quality longform audio reporting. The Membership in News Fund will support their effort to build a membership program across their full suite of podcasts. 

 

How we will support these newsrooms 


To support each of these newsrooms on their membership journey, the Membership Puzzle Project has assembled a team of audience engagement and revenue coaches who will work with their assigned newsrooms through the end of June:

Ben Whitelaw is a freelance journalist and media strategist. He has held a number of audience growth and digital strategy roles at The Guardian (U.K.) and The Times and The Sunday Times (U.K.) before joining the European Journalism Centre to help independent news organisations build stronger relationships with their communities. He is currently based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Federica Cherubini is an audience development and engagement expert, specializing in newsletter strategies and editorial initiatives that drive audience loyalty. She has 10 years of experience with organizational newsroom change, spanning major publishers, research institutes and editorial networks around the world, including Conde Nast and Hearken. She is Head of Leadership Development at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and is based in London.

Javier Borelli is the co-founder and first president of Tiempo Argentino, a worker-owned news cooperative and the first newsroom in Argentina to develop a membership model. He researched audience revenue models in 2019 as a Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism fellow and has worked as a membership consultant for newsrooms in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and México through the Membership in News Fund, Sembra Media's Velocidad and the Deutsche Welle Akademie. He is based in Buenos Aires. 

Jessica Best is a journalist, editor, researcher, and media strategist who supports newsrooms as they develop audience revenue and engagement initiatives. She previously worked at member-supported journalism platforms De Correspondent and The Correspondent, and at micropayments platform Blendle. She was also an editor and researcher for the Membership Guide. She is based in Sheffield, U.K. 

Sebastián Auyanet is an audience development and engagement strategist. He currently works for NowThis News in charge of social publishing and as a consultant for Sembramedia's Latin America accelerator, Velocidad. He also runs SembraMex, Sembramedia’s program for Mexico-based journalism entrepreneurs working along the U.S.-Mexico border. He is based in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Fund director Ariel Zirulnick will also coach three of the newsrooms. 

In addition to these coaches, Membership Puzzle Project has assembled a team of membership practitioners to support the newsrooms on an as-needed basis on specific topics connected to membership success. We are excited to welcome the following individuals, some of whom coached our first cohort or are former Membership in News Fund partners themselves. This team might expand if new expertise needs surface.

We are also excited to offer expert-level guidance on business modeling, strategic planning, and choosing technical tools from the Media Development Investment Fund team. MDIF is a not-for-profit investment fund for independent media, and became Membership Puzzle Project’s new home in September 2020. 

 
 
 

Fund partners

Civic engagement is a core component of the membership model of news generation that MPP seeks to promote, and it is foundational for Luminate’s work of supporting healthy democracies. Luminate is part of The Omidyar Group, created by eBay founder and philanthropist Pierre Omidyar.

Luminate is a global philanthropic organisation focused on empowering people and institutions to work together to build just and fair societies. It was established in 2018 by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay. Luminate works with its investees and partners to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in, and shape, the issues affecting their societies, and to make government, corporations, media, and those in positions of power more responsive and more accountable. Luminate does this by funding and supporting innovative and courageous organisations and entrepreneurs around the world, and by advocating for the policies and actions that will drive change across four impact areas: Civic Empowerment, Data & Digital Rights, Financial Transparency, and Independent Media. Luminate was previously the Governance & Citizen Engagement initiative at Omidyar Network and is now part of The Omidyar Group. To date it has supported 236 organisations in 18 countries with $314 million in funding.

The Media Development Investment Fund is a not-for-profit investment fund for independent media in countries where access to free and independent media is under threat. They provide affordable debt and equity financing supported by technical assistance to media companies that provide the news, information and debate that people need to build free, thriving societies.