Financial sustainability for the media

In the countries where we work, the sustainability of media outlets is linked strongly, but not exclusively, to their financial viability. We have identified the following 4 areas of viability, which we work on in a complementary manner in order to allow media to remain independent and deliver public service over the long term:

• Economic viability: diversifying sources of funding in the context of the failure of the media’s business model
• Institutional viability: media ownership, governance and management that guarantee editorial independence
• Editorial viability: continuous education for journalists and understanding audience needs in order to better respond to them
• Technical viability: sustainable means of production and broadcast

In addition to these challenges, we must address the issues of political commitment to press freedom and independence, and local ownership of media development. For almost 3 decades, Fondation Hirondelle has been supporting independent public service media and contributing to their sustainable development in complex situations.

Diversifying sources of funding:

Our organisation does not possess its own capital or funds to invest and run the media we create and support. Rather, we work to earn the trust of our partners: governments, co-operation organisations and private foundations. Fondation Hirondelle selects, multiplies and also limits the organisations we rely on for funding, our red line being that financial support must never be linked with editorial control. This is the model we present to our partners.

We create and support revenue-generating structures and activities in the most fragile countries, making it possible to build a hybrid business model that adheres to charters guaranteeing strict respect for editorial independence.

Every year, we struggle to achieve a financial balance. Over our 30 years of activity, several of the media outlets we have created or supported have closed due to lack of funding. At the same time, others have continued to fulfil their mission against the odds. Each experience guaranteed that control over content remained firmly with the editorial team, even while testing a new model to continue learning and looking for solutions.