Case Studies
Insightful and inspirational reports from the organisations and people experimenting with engaged journalism
How The Local Sweden created a micro-community around books about Swedish culture
The book club consists of book reviews, author Q&As, a newsletter, and events
Posted by Madalina on 11 March 2020
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How Metropole is generating revenue by helping Vienna’s new workers feel part of the community
Meetups and city guides help to make expatriates in the Austrian capital feel more at home in their new city
Posted by Ben on 27 November 2019
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How Global Voices created a community council to give users a say in its future strategy
184 community volunteers opted to review white papers and answer polls on important questions about the organisation’s values, structure and funding
Posted by Ben on 30 October 2019
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How Vileine started a journalism programme to tackle Dutch media's diversity problem
A seven-month training programme for aspiring female journalists, including placements at established Dutch news organisations, resulted in students being offered full-time jobs
Posted by Ben on 16 October 2019
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How Dublin Inquirer created a ‘citizens' agenda’ for city council elections
Ten election issues were crowdsourced from users, put to 130 prospective councillors and published as a voter’s guide on Dublin Inquirer’s website
Posted by Ben on 02 October 2019
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How Denník N's CRM helped it reach 42k subscribers in five years
Building its own easy-to-use customer monetisation tools enabled this Slovak start-up surpass 40,000 subscribers in five years
Posted by Ben on 18 September 2019
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How Civio’s energy subsidy checker helped readers and supported its membership drive
The simple web app also started a country-wide conversation about algorithmic transparency in public services
Posted by Ben on 22 August 2019
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How Nanook used an audiovisual exhibition to promote its podcast among hard-to-reach Lithuanians
Portraits and short clips of podcasts put on display at the National Library in Vilnius were visited by over 13,000 people in two months
Posted by Ben on 26 June 2019
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How Médor promoted local investigative stories using bright yellow posters in bookshop windows
A series of posters displayed in seven Belgian cities helped to raise awareness among locals of recently published investigative stories
Posted by Ben on 26 June 2019
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How Bureau Local runs its 'open newsroom’ Slack discussions for members
Hour-long online discussions, facilitated by the team, allow members to discuss topics, share expertise and tackle problems that they care about
Posted by Ben on 26 June 2019
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How Journal Media funds investigations by letting users pitch-and-pay for stories they want published
14 previously unreported stories raised €15,000 in funding from readers in just four months
Posted by Ben on 26 June 2019
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How De Balie uses 'live journalism' to engage the public and local politicians in under-reported topics
A five-month series of public meetings and investigative research about the cost of living in Amsterdam culminated in a participative theatre performance
Posted by Ben on 11 June 2019
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Why Clydesider invited locals to join songwriting classes and mindful photography walks
A day-long 'creative cafe' offered residents in West Dunbartonshire a chance to learn new skills and develop their confidence
Posted by Ben on 29 May 2019
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Why Koncentrat worked alongside a 14-year-old student to report on food waste in Denmark
Collaborating with teenagers in schools across Denmark has allowed this media start-up to cover under-reported topics and reach a younger audience
Posted by Ben on 15 May 2019
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Why Maldita.es surveyed users to find out their ‘superpower’
A light-hearted survey inspired over 2500 people to offer their skills and time to help this Spanish fact-checking platform
Posted by Ben on 01 May 2019
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How Are We Europe uses design sprints to tell stories with input from local journalists
Using a format inspired by Google’s Design Sprint methodology, this pan-European collective produced a high-quality multimedia story in Moldova in just five days
Posted by Ben on 17 April 2019
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How Solomon trains Greek immigrants with the skills to tell their own stories
This four-month community training programme helped 12 participants learn about editing and pitching and culminated in their own investigation
Posted by Ben on 03 April 2019
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How Outriders created an ‘ethical content studio’ to generate revenue and further its mission
Creating clear rules for projects and focusing on digital initiatives helped this Polish online magazine's studio make 45% of its overall budget in its first year
Posted by Ben on 20 March 2019
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How Tortoise Media crowdfunded half a million pounds by promising to be more inclusive
A combination of three and five-year memberships and packs for people under 30 helped this UK-based start-up quadruple its initial Kickstarter target
Posted by Ben on 06 March 2019
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How Voxe.org used a Facebook chatbot to crowdsource 15,000 questions
A simple chatbot allowed 9,500 young people to ask French political candidates thousands of questions in the run up to the 2017 election
Posted by Ben on 21 February 2019
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How Krautreporter uses data to commission articles that grow its membership
Reporters use subscription data and other digital analytics to create stories and formats that boost the number of paid members
Posted by Ben on 07 February 2019
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How Revista 5W let readers decide what it wrote about
A bespoke voting platform allowed subscribers of this Spanish independent media to vote for and financially support one of 15 story pitches from across five continents
Posted by Ben on 24 January 2019
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How The Correspondent crowdfunded $2.5m in 29 days
A network of ambassadors and a clever email campaign helped recruit 45,000 founding members from more than 130 countries
Posted by Ben on 10 January 2019
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How The Bristol Cable got 100+ people to take part at its annual member meeting
This UK co-operatively owned media used collaborative activities at its AGM to involve members in major decisions
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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How Decât o Revistă worked with students to unearth local stories
The Romanian subscription site's pop-up newsroom allowed them to tell local stories in collaboration with high school students and a civic institution
Posted by Madalina on 12 December 2018
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How Cafébabel managed a multi-language reporting project
Soliciting pitches from their community and using reporters familiar with Poland helped bring unreported stories from the country to life
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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How Zetland made a podcast and audio player for and with its members
The Danish long-form, subscription-based site took input from its members to shape their product strategy
Posted by Madalina on 12 December 2018
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How The Local uses homepage messaging to boost subscriptions
Using emotive wording and journalist's headshots in marketing material helped convert 7,000 users to members in 12 months
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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How Inside Story hosts workshops to commission stories with readers' input
A co-commissioning workshop helped readers understand how journalism is created and allowed journalists to get closer to their community
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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