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My journalism challenge is to make food policy news part of the American daily media diet, while solving Civil Eats’ long-term sustainability in a rapidly evolving digital space. In doing so, I hope to create an ethical business template for food policy journalism and improve on the ways that all digital publications do business. I want to expand our audience, help our readers engage more deeply with our content, and create a functional business model that is aligned with our mission. I am seeking to make the site as sustainable as we envision the food system to be, and in doing so, intend to help shape the debate around saving small, online niche publications that deliver specialized content and commentary to readers and supporters.
I’m working to incubate and test ideas at Stanford that hopefully will open the door to more diverse grass roots food coverage and promote independent journalism as a whole. I want to help diversify how content-driven media is consumed and supported. I hope to identify multiple revenue streams that could be used to fund other independent journalism enterprises and that allow for publishers to reach new audiences.
Financial sustainability is the problem for journalism in the modern age and almost all news organizations are tackling the same issues, some to varying degrees of success. There are some interesting publications testing ground in new areas around multiple revenue streams: Homicide Watch, a news and data platform in three U.S. cities; Texas Tribune, a news site focused on Texas civic life; and nonprofit news organizations like Pro Publica and The Center for Investigative Reporting. We are all similarly approaching funding as creatively as possible, from crowdfunding to subscriptions (both of which I have successfully undertaken) to events and affiliate programs. I am also focused intently on partnerships, syndication, and sponsorship. Unlike some of these sites, we do not take advertising (it’s never been economically worth it for our size).
What alternative business models exist for content-focused independent publishers?
Can independent digital publications survive in an ad-driven world?
Can we innovate in the digital space and create something entirely new that moves journalism to the next level?
I’m investigating strategies to ensure that the site is an ever more effective and sustainable operation for years to come, while broadening the accessibility of our content. I’m working to incubate some innovative revenue ideas, including a “food news wire,” membership, syndication, and partnerships. I’m already beginning to test these and more ideas at Stanford, within local food and tech-connected assets, from Silicon Valley venture capital funders to Stanford’s own FEED Collaborative. I want to lead the way in research to sustain and stabilize independent food journalism models and add many more diverse voices to the conversation.
