Digital-Born News Media in Europe

We examine twelve digital-born news media organisations across France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, focusing on funding models, distribution strategies, and editorial priorities. We find that European digital-born news media are clearly rooted in the profession of journalism. Producing quality journalism or having social impact are more prominent goals than delivering digital innovation or building lucrative new media businesses. New journalistic ventures seem most successful where old ones are weak, rather than where digital media are most widely used or online advertising markets are most developed. European digital-born news media organisations are similar in many respects to legacy media; this reflects their focus on journalism over business and technology. Digital-born and legacy news media face similar challenges online, especially around funding and distribution. We find that digital-born organisations are trying similar approaches – video, native advertising, various pay models, and commercial diversification – as their legacy counterparts