Case Studies
Insightful and inspirational reports from the organisations and people experimenting with engaged journalism
How Metropole is generating revenue by helping Vienna’s businesses make their staff feel part of the community
Meetups and city guides help to make expatriates in Vienna feel more at home and form a growing part of the Austrian media’s recurring revenue stream
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
A temporary council of community volunteers informed its future strategy by reviewing four white papers and taking polls on key 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, which resulted in students being offered full-time jobs
Posted by Ben on 16 October 2019
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How Dublin Inquirer set a ‘citizens' agenda’ for city council elections
A list of ten election issues crowdsourced from users, which were then 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 web app helped grow the Spanish non-profit's membership numbers and started a country-wide conversation about algorithmic transparency
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
An exhibition of portraits taken by Nanook photographers and showcased alongside short clips of podcasts in the capital of Vilnius and the town of Plungè
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 propose-and-pay for stories they want published
Readers submit story ideas that are shaped by editors into proposals for investigations and published online in order to be funded by members of the public.
Posted by Ben on 26 June 2019
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How De Balie uses 'live journalism' to engage people and politicians in Amsterdam in unreported topics
A five-month series of public meetings and investigative research in Amsterdam, culminating 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 event for local residents to share their ideas and experiences across a range of creative mediums, from poetry to songwriting to crafting
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
A solutions-focused story commissioned by and for Danish teenagers in schools across the country
Posted by Ben on 15 May 2019
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Why Maldita.es surveyed users to find out their ‘superpower’
A 10-question survey that asked users to share what they were prepared to contribute to Maldita.es and its fact-checking operation
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
A workshop that took inspiration from Google’s Design Sprint methodology to produce a high-quality multimedia story with local journalists and experts 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 ‘impact through media’ community training programme is designed to help participants to become more engaged in the local community
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, alongside clear stretch goals and well-known supporters, helped Tortoise quadruple its initial Kickstarter target in December 2018
Posted by Ben on 06 March 2019
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How Voxe.org used a chatbot to crowdsource 15,000 questions
A chatbot that enabled 9,500 young people to ask political candidates thousands of questions during the six months before the 2017 French election
Posted by Ben on 21 February 2019
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How Krautreporter uses data to commission articles that grow its membership
Reporters in the newsroom have access to data about what stories convert to subscription best and use this, plus qualitative data, to create stories and formats that boost subscriptions.
Posted by Ben on 07 February 2019
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How Revista 5W let readers decide what it wrote about
People were able to vote for and financially support one of 15 story pitches from across five continents as a way of funding quality reporting and teaching readers about the costs of reporting abroad.
Posted by Ben on 24 January 2019
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How The Correspondent crowdfunded $2.5m in 29 days
The 2018 campaign to fund an English-speaking participative newsroom was billed as “building a movement for unbreaking news”
Posted by Ben on 10 January 2019
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How The Local uses homepage messaging to boost subscriptions
Conducting A/B tests with an emotive message resonated with potential subscribers
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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How Zetland made a podcast and audio player for and with its members
Listening to their community helped this Danish organisation develop their product strategy
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 Decat o Revista worked with students to unearth local stories
The Romania 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 The Bristol Cable got 100+ people to take part at its annual member meeting
The UK co-operative allowed its members to input on strategy, editorial coverage and resource allocation
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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How Inside Story is commissioning stories with readers
A co-commissioning workshop between journalists and subscribers to help readers see how journalism is created, and help journalists understand their community better.
Posted by Ben on 12 December 2018
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