SembraMedia launches research project to map Europe's digital media landscape

Credit: Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

Non-profit organisation SembraMedia has launched a new initiative to produce a comprehensive media directory of Europe.

It will now set out on a research project into the sustainability of around 1,000 digital-first media organisations across 43 European countries. At the end of the year-long project, SembraMedia will produce profiles of each media organisation in English for an interactive database.

It is based on a previous model for Spanish-speaking media in Latin America, the US, Canada and Spain started in 2015. That currently consists of 1,040 media outlets across 24 countries, which can be searched using more than 10 filters, including country, revenue sources, and content focus.

Screenshot from SembraMedia's media directory via Google Chrome Translate

This gives an overview of the 'media ecosystem' of the region as a whole. Currently, you can see that the most common form of funding in the Spanish-speaking media market is direct sales advertising, that two-thirds are for-profit organisations, and that 57 per cent of founders are men.

"It provides a valuable resource for media leaders, investors, academics, and others interested in understanding the trends, challenges, and opportunities for digital media in the region," says Janine Warner, CEO of SembraMedia in an email to Journalism.co.uk.

Screenshot of SembraMedia's ecosystem tool

For the European version, SembraMedia is working with European Journalism Centre, Google News Initiative, International Media Support, and Global Forum for Media Development to create Project Oasis. These organisations bring their regional experience and network to the project.

Madalina Ciobanu, research project director for Project Oasis, says that she aims to spotlight independent digital news organisations and what is working within those institutions - but also what is not working and where more contacts and expertise are needed.

"We hope that the directory will help researchers, funders and those who wish to support journalism in Europe to increase their understanding of what these outlets need at different stages of their growth and in the local context in which they operate, in order to provide them with the right types of resources, funding and support going forward."

In recent years, SembraMedia has helped to co-ordinate media accelerators as well as pioneering research as part of its mission to help digital native media kick on and become sustainable. The media directory has been a crucial source of insights and contacts to provide the right training and consultation.

As part of its move into Europe, SembraMedia will produce an accompanying report to Project Oasis next year. That will contain specific findings about each of the 43 countries included in this project.

Working with local researchers and partners, the research team will identify and assess media candidates and conduct interviews in local languages.

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