Media cooperative

Media cooperatives are a form of cooperative that report on news based on the geographic location of their membership, or the general interests of the membership.[1] Often they are a form of alternative media, critical of mainstream perspectives, with progressive society stances.[2][3] However, several cooperatives outside of the west are established mainstream media outlets. Media Cooperatives often unite customers and service providers to oppose a pure profit motive in the media.[4] In contrast to mainstream media companies, media cooperatives are able to report independently, due to the minimization of the Principal–agent problem. Media Cooperatives are growing in popularity as a form of organization for media reporting, however access to capital and lack of awareness in society present challenges to proliferation.[5]

Examples are: in Germany Junge Welt (1947) and Die Tageszeitung (1978), in Italy Il manifesto (1969), and in Switzerland WOZ Die Wochenzeitung (2012). In Hamburg, there is also the "media puzzle factory" as an association of providers to the media and cultural industry.

Some media cooperatives publish the local edition of Le Monde diplomatique.

Types of Media Cooperatives

Consumer

A consumer coop is owned and funded by the consumers of the service. In the context of a media co-operative, consumers would be the readers, watchers, or listeners. Membership fees could be monthly, annually, or a one-time membership fee could be applied. Consumer owned Media Coops sometimes augment their funding with advertisements or government grants.

Multi-Stakeholder

Multi-Stakeholder media coops are the more prominent type of media cooperative. Multi-stakeholder means that cooperative funding could come from worker-owners, consumers, business, or government. Multi-stakeholder coops have more complex ownership structures, and editorial direction and independence is potentially more opaque than a full consumer-owned, or full worker-owned cooperative. The realities of capital access in the modern age usually require that new media cooperatives approach financing via this method.

Worker

Worker-owned media cooperatives are organized in a way that the journalists and other staff of the cooperative control and receive profit from the media cooperative. Worker owned cooperatives are usually smaller, due to scarce access to capital, and less mainstream politically compared to major media outlets. Well financed worked-owned media cooperatives exist, usually due to long periods of operation, capital generation, and prudent financial management.

List of Media Cooperatives
Name Country Language Format Type of Coop Established Publishing Frequency
La Jornada Mexico Spanish Print, Online Worker 1984 Daily
Daily Herald Press USA English Online Worker 2001 Daily
Apache Belgium Flemish Online Multi-Stakeholder 2009 Daily
New Internationalist UK English Print, Online Multi-Stakeholder 1973 10 issues a year
Bristol Cable UK English Print, Online Consumer 2014 Quarterly
Taz.de Germany German Print, Online Consumer 1978 Daily
NB Media Co-op Canada English Online Consumer Weekly
Brazil Popular Brazil Portuguese Online Multi-Stakeholder 2015 Daily
Junge Welt Germany German Print, Online 1947 Daily
West Highland Free Press Scotland English Print, Online Worker 2009 Daily
El Critic Spain Spanish Online Worker 2015 Daily
Ethical Consumer UK English Print, Online Multi-Stakeholder Monthly
Sheffield Live UK English TV, Online Multi-Stakeholder 2003 Daily
Positive News UK English Print, Online Multi-Stakeholder Weekly
La Marea Spain Spanish Print, Online Multi-Stakeholder 2012 Daily
Haverhill Matters USA English Online Consumer 2016
Alternativas economicas Spain Spanish Online Worker 2013 Daily
Alternatives Economiques France French Online Worker 1980 Monthly
Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative USA English Online Worker 2011 Weekly
Il manifesto Italy Italian Print, Online Worker 1969 Daily
The Ferret Scotland English Online Multi-Stakeholder 2015 Daily
The Media Co-op (The Dominion (Canada)) Canada English Online Multi-Stakeholder 2006
Medor Belgium French Print, Online Multi-Stakeholder 2014 Monthly
Fourth Estate USA English Online Multi-Stakeholder 2011 Daily
WNet Poland Polish Online, Radio Multi-Stakeholder 2009 Daily
La Diaria Uruguay Spanish Online, Print Worker 2006 Daily
Brecha Uruguay Spanish Online, Print Worker 1985 Weekly
Krautreporter Germany German Online Consumer 2014 Daily

See also

References
  1. "Cooperatives of the Americas - Coop News". www.aciamericas.coop. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  2. Boyle, Dave. "Good News: A Co-operative Solution to the Media Crisis" (PDF). Good News - downloadable PDF. Co-operatives UK. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  3. Andrew Bibby (2013-09-25). "Stop the press ... and make way for the co-op media". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  4. "About". Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  5. Kaiser, Jo Ellen Green (2019-02-02). "Media Cooperatives: Challenges and Opportunities". Medium. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
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