SembraMedia announces with partners European Journalism Centre (EJC), Google News Initiative (GNI), International Media Support (IMS), and Global Forum for Media Development the launch of Project Oasis; a new research study into the sustainability of digitally native media organizations in 43 countries across Europe.
In early 2023, the Project Oasis research team will launch an interactive media directory and final report with the goal of uncovering new insights and trends in the independent digital media ecosystem and bringing greater visibility to this growing market sector.
“Our team at SembraMedia have vast experience studying digital media innovators and looking for promising trends in online news and emerging business models that enable journalistic independence,” said Janine Warner, Co-founder and Executive Director, SembraMedia. “Our ultimate goal is to empower media leaders, funders, academics, and others who share our mission to help innovative news organizations grow, develop, and ultimately better inform their communities in ways that strengthen their democracies for years to come.”
Working with local researchers and partners, the SembraMedia research team will identify and qualify media candidates and conduct interviews in local languages. The strategic partners bring their regional experience and network to the research initiative.
At the end of the year-long project, SembraMedia will produce profiles of each media organization in English for the directory. The directory will be searchable, interactive, and will feature more than 1,000 media organizations from 43 countries. The directory will be accompanied by a comprehensive report that highlights regional trends and top findings for the digital news sector across Europe.
“As we work to develop this new media directory for Europe, one of our goals is to compare notes with others who are doing research on media sustainability and digitally native media organizations so that we can better understand benchmarks and trends across the region,” said Conor Crowley, Head of Startups, Google News Initiative. “Ultimately, this research will help companies like Google to provide the right tools and resources to support growth of local and digital news providers.”
For more information or questions, please contact:
Madalina Ciobanu | Research project director, Project Oasis, on madalina@sembramedia.org