Independent journalism needs not only good content, but also sustainable business models. This is where the Media Forward Fund comes in. It was initiated in 2024 by the Schöpflin Foundation together with nine other foundations and an impact investor at the time; additional organisations have since joined. The aim is to strengthen diversity in journalism and, with it, democracy by supporting independent quality media. To this end, the Fund brings together new funding for journalism in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and supports the development of new business models in public-interest media.

We spoke to founding Managing Director Martin Kotynek to look back on the first two years of the Media Forward Fund and asked him about his experiences, the challenges and potential he sees for public-interest media, and how the Fund should develop in the future.
 

Two years ago, the Media Forward Fund was launched with the aim of creating greater media diversity across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Since then, hundreds of media organisations have applied to you. What does this response tell us about the state of journalism?

Martin Kotynek: When we started, we had no idea whether our offer would be well received. The response has really impressed us, not only with the first call, but continuously throughout our four calls so far. For me, this shows two things above all: There is an enormous diversity of ideas for public-interest business models across the entire DACH region, as well as a strong entrepreneurial drive. Many media professionals are founding new ventures or developing existing offerings further because they are convinced that independent journalism is needed now more than ever. Secondly, the 450 applications we have received so far also show just how great the need for support is. There is no shortage of ideas for financing journalism sustainably – what is lacking are the financial resources to make these ideas viable.
 

During the application process, you gained insights into a wide range of business models in the media sector. What challenges do you encounter again and again, and where do you see the courage to try something new?

Martin Kotynek: What we see across the entire DACH region is that many media organisations produce excellent journalism and their business models work well on a small scale. But they lack the capacity and capital to grow these approaches – for example, to further develop their products, reach new target groups or use their data more strategically. Especially for smaller organisations, it is essential to connect their journalistic excellence even more closely with public-interest entrepreneurial thinking.

At the same time, there are exciting approaches beyond traditional media models: These media organisations consistently develop their offerings based on the needs of their audiences – they have to be relevant, otherwise no one will pay for them. In the process, media organisations continuously experiment and learn what works – and what does not. This creates a great deal of innovative energy and new successful models. For example, we encounter different variations of a model that our jury member Lucy Kueng from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism calls the »magic triangle«: newsletters create regularity, podcasts strengthen the connection with the community, and events create personal encounters. Together, they open up new ways of building long-term relationships with audiences and developing different sources of revenue.
 

How does the jury decide which idea or approach has the potential to be successful in the long term and should therefore receive funding?

Martin Kotynek: The key question is whether a project has the potential to sustainably develop a media organisation further. A prerequisite is initial evidence that the approach works and reaches users. The jury wants to understand what impact the project aims to achieve and whether the team can show how it realistically intends to get there.

The jury consists of five independent experts from all three DACH countries and works according to a fixed set of criteria. All decisions to approve or reject an application are explained transparently. Our funders only learn afterwards who applied and whom the jury selected. This ensures that our funding partners cannot influence the jury’s decision.
 

The Media Forward Fund is not just about money. Why is financial support alone no longer enough today?

Martin Kotynek: The future viability of journalism does not depend on money alone. Many applicants face similar challenges: How do I develop my product further? How do I gain members? How do I use my data effectively and derive growth measures from it? Not every organisation needs to work this out for itself. This knowledge exists within the sector, but it is often still unevenly distributed.

Our Upskilling programme is designed to meet this need: We invite our Grantees, but also applicants with potential, to our upskilling programmes, including two-day thematic deep dives, learning visits with one another and 1:1 coaching for media organisations. Topics include product development, community building, leadership culture, data strategy and more. This creates added value that no individual grant could provide on its own. Everything our Grantees learn through our non-profit funding is shared with the public so that other media professionals can benefit from it as well.
 

The first grants will come to an end at the end of the year. Is there already an initial conclusion you can draw about the Grantees from the first round?

Martin Kotynek: We see that the organisations we have funded have made important steps towards financial sustainability. Some are reaching their milestones faster than planned, while others need to adjust their interim goals. For us as a young funding organisation, this is also part of the process: incorporating these experiences into the further development of our funding programme.

And the collaboration should not end once the funding period is over. The organisations remain part of our network and bring their experiences back into our community. The entire sector benefits from this, and we strengthen the media ecosystem across the DACH region.
 

The Media Forward Fund now has around €20 million from 25 funders. In addition to the roughly 10 foundations and one impact investor involved at the beginning, further partners from philanthropy and the public sector have joined. Where should the Fund go from here?

Martin Kotynek: The media industry continues to change rapidly. We increasingly need to address the question of how AI is changing value creation in journalism. AI is already influencing how journalistic content is found, used and paid for. This brings risks, but also opens up new opportunities. And for small public-interest media organisations to take advantage of these opportunities, they need time to experiment, capital and opportunities to exchange with others. We want to play a stronger role in this in the future.

Our goal remains for independent journalism to have a broader financial base in the long term. Hans Schöpflin, co-founder of the Media Forward Fund, always says: »Journalism needs much more money from many more people.« To achieve this, we want to bring on board additional partners from philanthropy and the public sector who want to strengthen journalism in this acute media crisis. Three public-sector partners are already involved: the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the City of Geneva. At the same time, we want to help ensure that knowledge about successful business models circulates more quickly throughout the sector. The Fund should therefore not only be a funder, but also a platform for exchange, learning and innovation.