Non-profit journalism
The non-profit journalism , also known under the names of not-for-profit journalism or think tank Journalism , sees itself as a non-profit form of journalism .
Definition and characteristics
Non-profit journalism is pursued by so-called non-profit organizations (NPO) which, in contrast to companies, do not primarily aim at economic success. Non-profit journalists usually work investigatively, as the journalist Stefan Seitz states: "They take up socially relevant topics from politics, business and society in order to uncover grievances, scandals and affairs through thorough research."
According to the authors Thomas Schnedler and Marcus Schuster, a total of four features are characteristic of non-profit journalism:
- takes the public task assigned to journalism seriously
- without profit
- is operated with significant funding from donors and sponsors
- is recognized by the tax authorities as non-profit
Advantages and disadvantages
The lack of profit-making intent of non-profit journalism on the one hand offers numerous freedoms in journalistic work. When choosing a topic, you do not have to consider circulation or click figures. Social relative issues can be tackled without pressure. At the same time, however, there is a risk that new dependencies will arise from the support provided by foundations or other donors: independence from advertising markets is offset by dependency on donors, grants, etc.
distribution
The best known non-profit journalism network is the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which was founded in 1997. It is a global network of more than 190 reporters in over 65 countries. In German-speaking countries, the non-profit research agency Correctiv , which was founded in 2014, should be mentioned. Further examples of non-profit journalism in Germany are context: weekly newspaper or the networking platform Hostwriter .
Individual evidence
- ^ Stefan Seitz: Non-profit Journalism, in: Deutscher Fachjournalisten-Verband (Ed.): Journalistische Genres, UVK-Verlag, Konstanz 2016, p. 403.
- ↑ Thomas Schnedler / Marcus Schuster: Non-profit journalism worldwide. Typology of journalistic non-profit organizations. https://netzwerkrecherche.org/nonprofit/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/02/Report-Gemeinnuetziger-Journalismus-weltweit.pdf
- ↑ Seitz, Non-profit Journalism, p. 408.