Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
Over the past two decades, the need for small news publishers has been justified for at least three reasons:
- The need for investigative journalism at a time when legacy media was shedding investigative capacity (the so-called ProPublica model)
- Algorithmic distribution on social media meant a small newsroom could reach massive audiences without investing too much in media infrastructure (the BuzzFeed News model)
- The "Impact over Audience" model that held that journalism can have outsized impact by simply reaching very specific audiences who could work the legal system to seek redress (what we call the Elite Intervention model). Today, as legacy newsrooms in many parts of the world invest in investigative capacity as a means to drive subscriptions, social media audiences evaporate with little to replace them, and the independence of legal systems erode as part of democratic backsliding, what purpose can/should small, independent, news publishers serve? This question is particularly urgent and important at a time when, in much of the world, the US government's retreat from foreign aid across multiple sectors (from media to health to essential services) has forced the philanthropy sector to re-evaluate how media fits within their broader portfolios. Moderated by Aman Sethi.
Con: Julie Posetti (director Information Integrity Initiative), Aman Sethi (editor-in-chief openDemocracy), Natalia Viana (co-founder and executive director Agencia Publica)
Over the past two decades, the need for small news publishers has been justified for at least three reasons:
- The need for investigative journalism at a time when legacy media was shedding investigative capacity (the so-called ProPublica model)
- Algorithmic distribution on social media meant a small newsroom could reach massive audiences without investing too much in media infrastructure (the BuzzFeed News model)
- The "Impact over Audience" model that held that journalism can have outsized impact by simply reaching very specific audiences who could work the legal system to seek redress (what we call the Elite Intervention model). Today, as legacy newsrooms in many parts of the world invest in investigative capacity as a means to drive subscriptions, social media audiences evaporate with little to replace them, and the independence of legal systems erode as part of democratic backsliding, what purpose can/should small, independent, news publishers serve? This question is particularly urgent and important at a time when, in much of the world, the US government's retreat from foreign aid across multiple sectors (from media to health to essential services) has forced the philanthropy sector to re-evaluate how media fits within their broader portfolios. Moderated by Aman Sethi.
Con: Julie Posetti (director Information Integrity Initiative), Aman Sethi (editor-in-chief openDemocracy), Natalia Viana (co-founder and executive director Agencia Publica)
