Many European news organisations are asking themselves the same question: How do we financially sustain our commitment to the community that we serve?
Today, we’re pleased to publish a guide that we hope will help support community-driven news organisations across Europe become more resilient: Bureau Local’s approach to business development.
In October 2018, Bureau Local, based in the UK, was awarded funding as part of the Engaged Journalism Accelerator’s Closed Call, as one of four organisations with a record of sustaining a loyal community and a willingness to develop a resilient business model.
Its grant application sought to explore and determine viable revenue streams and strategy for the organisation. The Bureau Local team worked with Joaquin Alvarado of StudiotoBe, a strategic planning and journalism development firm, to better understand the UK market and revenue opportunities available beyond philanthropy.
The guide is the result of that work and includes:
- A seven-step process for how to assess revenue-making opportunities in small teams
- Three ideas that the five-person Bureau Local team came up with through this process
- Learnings and recommendations from the six-month process
The Engaged Journalism Accelerator is committed to accelerating the skills, people, ideas and knowledge transfer of news organisations in order to help create positive, more resilient and more impactful relationships between them and the communities they serve. This research is part of that mission and adds to a growing evidence base.
