[Inside the Newsroom] Why you need to help independent newsrooms

The traditional revenue model for newsrooms has collapsed, with most advertising revenue controlled by major tech companies, forcing news outlets to compete fiercely for the remaining market. Rappler remains committed to providing free access to most of its content while requiring subscriptions for exclusive investigative stories, emphasizing the importance of funding quality journalism. Despite the financial challenges faced by the public, the value of well-researched journalism is highlighted, and readers are encouraged to support independent news through membership programs. This is AI-generated and may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. Report issues here. Unlike lies — which you can pull out of thin air — ‘the best obtainable version of the truth’ takes time, talent, resources, and courage We totally get it. People are so used to getting content for free that it’s hard to imagine why you would need to pay for it. Why shell out money for content when Facebook, Tiktok, and YouTube are teeming with creators who repurpose stories and share their “analysis” of current events for free, at the drop of a hat? The attention economy is a cutthroat space that newsrooms cannot win now — unless we succumb to ridiculous antics, screaming headlines, and short “analyses” that many content creators of today resort to just to get eyeballs. The traditional way by which newsrooms earn revenue to support themselves is through advertising. But that model has long gone down the drain. Nearly 80% of global media advertising is now cornered by the top 10 tech companies: Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. To get to the remaining 20%, newsrooms from all over the world have to fight tooth and nail with each other, with an ever growing number of influencers and content creators, and — more recently — with an avalanche of AI slop. Yet, most Rappler stories remain free. We are committed to our public mission to deliver verified information on matters of public interest. Only select Rappler exclusives require a paywall. But we also produce short video derivatives from them to serve for free on TikTok and YouTube. It’s a constant source of joy to see these videos on corruption and geopolitics watched by millions of viewers. We require people to register (via their emails) — for free — for two reasons: We want to make sure that humans, not bots, are on our site (and even then this has become uphill battle because of the sneaky ways of AI) AI companies steal our content as training data — without seeking permission and without paying. They then deploy information to readers who would otherwise find them in news sites. For fact checks that Rappler makes, readers are not even required to register. It is when we publish investigative stories and premium analyses that we ask the public to help us sustain this kind of work by joining our Rappler + membership program. And we appreciate that they do, because this simple act of citizenship inspires us further to tell stories that those in power prefer not to be told. Rappler + members believe that journalism is vital to making governments and communities work, and they part with their hard-earned money to help ensure that this work continues. We grant, however, that it’s not a small ask if one takes into account the shrinking personal and household income of Filipinos. That said, we used to pay for newspapers. We also paid for cable news. As of 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority even estimated that one in 10 Filipino families are already subscribed to streaming services like Netflix. Estimates peg the amount Filipinos spend on mobile games at roughly US$1.5 billion. We also pay for more frivolous things online. Lazada, Shopee, and Temu are flourishing here. Even Amazon has found it lucrative enough to enter the Philippine market. If you find value in the investigations and in-depth reporting that Rappler has been delivering, surely you will not find the small amount of P247 a month or P3,500 a year prohibitive? Yet, when we release exclusive, well-researched, original content on disinformation narratives or anything of public interest, we get comments like these: “Galit kayo sa disinformation pero yung information, lalagyan nyo ng paywall.” As one fellow journalist said, this is how journalism dies: when people think it always needs to be given away for free. It is as if Rappler does not have to pay for what goes through the process of researching, investigating, editing, publishing, and keeping a workforce. The meter for our hosting server does not stop when the subject matter of an article a user is accessing is a public interest issue. The inconvenient truth here is this: unlike lies and conjecture — which you can pull out of thin air — ”the best obtainable version of the truth” takes time, talent, and resources. And, yes, courage. Thus, Rappler and other newsrooms are facing the challenge of coming up with multiple revenue streams to sustain the business — through membership programs and other revenue pillars. It’s a battle we won’t win without our public. We ask that you will pass on this message so more people will support independent journalism. Thank you. – Rappler.com Inside the Newsroom is a newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week. Visit rappler.com/newsletters to manage your newsletter subscriptions. How does this make you feel? Loading