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Cracking the media management puzzle through insights, solutions and data. ▪️Website — http://thefix.media ▪️Newsletter— http://bit.ly/2Tsr0M9 Reach out: @thefixmediabot
For Ukrainian journalists, this winter turned into a battle for both information and basic warmth. As strikes on the power grid coincide with record frosts, newsrooms are finding ways to operate in near-total darkness. We discussed how they survive with Alona Serhiienko, CEO of @Cukrcity, and Vsevolod Sevastianov, Partnerships Manager at @Babel.
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In February, Russia began blocking Telegram, one of the country’s most popular messaging and blogging platforms across the political spectrum. The strongest backlash came from the platform’s most privileged users: pro-Kremlin voices. The Fix’s Veronica Snoj looked into this standoff.
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The Fix Foundation, in partnership with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), is continuing technical assistance for Ukrainian media outlets and journalists through the “Voices of Ukraine” programme.
The goal is to provide material support to Ukrainian media that continue to work inside the country, ensuring their uninterrupted work in conditions that put their lives at risk.
Priority is given to regional, frontline, and hyperlocal media. Support focuses on reliable power and connectivity, including generators, power banks, and communication tools, to ensure stability and continuity during power cuts.
💳 Grant support per journalist is approximately €1,600, and up to €10,000 per media organisation.
🗓️ Deadline: 16 March
📜 Details
👉 All types of media are invited to apply HERE
Resilience is often discussed in abstract terms, but for Ukrainian publishers in 2026, it is a daily operational requirement. Amid a winter of targeted infrastructure attacks, the industry is managing to innovate.
In our latest FixEd podcast episode, Anton Protsiuk sits down with Daria Trapeznikova (Forbes Ukraine, Rivni Media) to analyse the state of the market four years since the full-scale invasion began.
The conversation addresses how publishers sustain operations during blackouts, Ukraine's role as a testing ground for YouTube and Telegram revenue models. Plus, Miraslau Chyhir told us how The Fix Foundation supports independent newsrooms in need.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform:
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Last week, Slovakia’s Denník N announced its acquisition of Brussels-based EUobserver. We spoke with Tomáš Bella, Denník N’s co-founder and EUobserver’s new CEO, about the intricacies of the deal, the team’s plans to grow EUobserver, and his thoughts on a CEE publisher making an acquisition in Brussels.
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The "intelligent inbox" is now a reality. As AI-powered filters and agentic assistants become the new gatekeepers of deliverability, the gap between personality-led newsletters and generic link collections is widening.
In the latest episode of the FixEd podcast, Anton Protsiuk sits down with Dan Oshinsky (founder of Inbox Collective and former newsletter lead at The New Yorker and BuzzFeed) to discuss future-proofing your newsletter in the age of AI, whether your company should invest in Substack, and exciting newsletter projects to watch.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform:
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to significant changes in the Russian media landscape. What were its main developments in the fourth year of the war? Veronica Snoj reports in her latest piece for The Fix.
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In the search for new revenue streams, UK multimedia company Tindle Group is looking to the skies. The publisher, which owns local newspapers and radio stations, has launched an innovative project using AI-driven weather reports to attract new advertisers.
▪️ Since summer 2025, AI-generated weather reports have been published at 5 a.m. daily on all of Tindle's local websites. This content is automatically posted as the first story of the day and shared across social media, ensuring maximum visibility.
▪️"The project evolved from discussions with our web development partner... and our own research into content of interest to our local website readers," explains Neil Webster, Commercial Digital Officer at Tindle.
▪️ The reports are compiled from high-quality sources, geolocated by postcode, and written in a conversational and accessible style. This provides a valuable, hyper-local service that traditional TV or radio forecasts can't match.
▪️The core of the project is a new business model. Tindle offers sponsorship packages that bundle digital, print, and sponsorship advertising around these daily reports. "We hope that by sponsoring our weather service local advertisers will get a positive association from being the providers of the weather report," Webster notes.
▪️ The initial results are highly encouraging. "So far take-up has been very positive," says Webster, citing a wide variety of local businesses—from garden centres to funeral directors—that have signed on. The data shows growing audiences and increasing advertiser engagement with the sponsorship.
▪️This initiative is an example of how publishers can use AI to augment their editorial work, creating new, monetisable content that serves the community without straining journalistic resources. Tindle is already exploring other ways to use AI to create compelling, high-quality services.
❓ This raises an interesting question for the industry: What other daily, data-driven content could be automated to create value for both readers and advertisers?
📍 For a deeper dive into Tindle's strategy, read the full article on our website.
Getting to 5,000 paid members “was the most exhausting six weeks of my life. It was like an election campaign every day fighting for existence,” Florian Novak, founder of JETZT, told us. As it marks 100 days after launch, Hleb Liapeika learned about the new Austrian outlet with an innovative (for Austria) membership-only model and a heavy focus on audio.
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Since 2020, Poland has become home to a large Belarusian diaspora, creating a growing need for media that can explain the complexities of their new home. The Made in Poland podcast, started as a hobby by Maksim Parshuta and Kiryl Zheltock, has met this need and built a sustainable, community-funded model. Here are the highlights from our discussion of the past, today, and future of the podcast with its founders.
◼ The podcast's origin lies in organic audience demand. Kiryl, a 20-year resident of Poland, began posting informal Twitter threads in Belarusian explaining Polish politics. The posts gained significant traction, especially around the 2023 elections. Maksim, a journalist turned marketer, saw the potential and proposed a collaboration. "The fact that Max wrote to me at some point, it was some kind of sign, a sign from the heavens," Kiryl recalls.
◼ In its first year, "Made in Poland" generated over $12,000 in revenue, all of which is reinvested into the project. The founders do not take a salary, treating it as a self-sustaining hobby. Their income comes from a diverse mix of sources: 44% from regular subscriptions, 38% from advertising, and 18% from one-time donations.
◼ A key strategic decision is the use of the Belarusian language. While co-founder Kiryl admits it can be a "certain barrier," Maksim argues it fosters a more dedicated and "engaged audience." He believes it results in a "cozier" project that people are more motivated to support financially. "I think that because of the Belarusian language, there is a more engaged, passionate audience," he says.
◼ Beyond the screen, the podcast is actively building its community through offline events in Warsaw and Łódź, with their anniversary celebration attracting 60 paying attendees. They have also partnered with the prestigious Museum of the History of Polish Jews to promote its Belarusian-language tours.
◼ The central question for the founders is whether the podcast will remain a hobby or evolve into a professional media project. For now, their focus is on steady development. As Kiryl hopes, "Perhaps, it will actually be possible to become a real media project, and not just a hobbyist circle of interests."
❓The success of Made in Poland demonstrates the power of serving a specific community's needs. What are the key ingredients for turning a passion project into a sustainable media venture?
📍 Read the full article on our website to learn more about their journey.
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📰 Last week, we explored what it is like to study journalism in Russia during wartime censorship and covered Pluralis' investment in Ukraine’s leading publisher Ukrayinska Pravda.
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Are your newsroom's assumptions getting in the way of audience growth? The solution might be "product thinking."
This means shifting from "what we think our audience wants" to "what our audience actually needs"—and building your journalism to serve that need.
In our new FixEd podcast episode, The Fix’s Orsolya Seregely speaks with Fabienne Meijer, a product thinking expert from OCCRP, about how this mindset is becoming essential for sustainability.
They discuss how treating journalism as a "product" can transform your audience strategy, internal workflows, and business model.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation on:
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to severe suppression of free speech, forcing many journalists to leave the country. What is it like for Russian journalism students who stayed to navigate such turmoil during their studies? Veronica Snoj explains in her latest article for The Fix.
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One of the hottest media acquisitions of 2025 happened when Swedish giant Bonnier News became the new majority owner of Zetland, the hyped Danish brand that has gone from nothing to 70,000 paying members in a decade. So, how did it happen?
◼ Zetland CEO Tav Klitgaard shared that the need for a new owner arose from the company's origins. After 10 years, it was time to provide a return for their initial angel investors. As Zetland looked to expand its pan-European ambitions, it became clear they needed a different kind of partner.
◼ "That’s when we decided that now was the right time to swap the passive investors for a new strategic investor, who is not primarily there for just the money but for the journalism, free press and freedom of speech," Klitgaard said.
◼ What made Zetland an attractive target? According to Klitgaard, Bonnier News liked that "we have proved that we understand how to think journalism and media business differently." This includes their innovative storytelling, success in engaging a younger audience with audio, and building a product people are willing to pay for.
◼ For other media leaders hoping to attract a buyer, Klitgaard's advice is straightforward: "You start by having a product that people like, and then having a unique offer... but unless there’s a path to profit it’s not really interesting to buy as a company." He emphasizes the importance of building a brand that makes key industry players want to reply to your emails.
◼ The selection process itself was about more than just spreadsheets. "It’s a lot about people, actually," Klitgaard insists. "We will be working closely together with these people for hopefully many years. So do you like them? Do you find them smart and inspiring and empathetic?"
◼ A major concern in such deals is the loss of identity, but Klitgaard is confident in the partnership. "They need us to stay editorially, culturally, financially, technically independent, and that’s also what we think is the best thing for Zetland. And if that’s true, that’s also ultimately the best thing for Bonnier."
◼ The key takeaway from Zetland's journey is to focus on building a great company first. As one of Klitgaard's investors says, "Good things happen to good companies, so don’t obsess about 'it has to be like this in five years' – build a great culture, build a great profitable company and then great things will happen."
❓What do you think is the most critical element for a successful media acquisition: strategic alignment, cultural fit, or financial terms?
📍 Read the full interview on our website to get more insights from Tav Klitgaard.
The MEDIA BLEND HACKATHON 2026 will take place in Vienna on 4–6 May.
It is a hands‑on, three‑day event where journalists, editors, and product and business leads prototype new, sustainable business models for their media organisations.
👉 Apply HERE.
€5,000 kick‑off grants for 3 winning teams, travel support for selected finalist teams, mentorship, pitch coaching, and a digital simulation game to stress‑test your ideas are up for grabs.
Teams of 2–4 from media organisations in eligible European countries aiming to address challenges like revenue instability, audience retention, or over‑dependence on a single funder or platform are invited to participate.
📅 Apply by 15 March (applications are reviewed on a rolling basis).
💬 Questions: mediablendhack@gmail.com
📰 Last week, we found out why the Slovak daily Denník N acquired EUobserver, and explained how Russia tries to grind down Ukraine’s society and its media.
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In 2022, the priority for Ukrainian media was survival – helmets, bulletproof vests, and emergency funds to keep the lights on. Today, the challenge has shifted to long-term sustainability.
In the latest episode of FixEd, we spoke with The Fix Foundation’s Miraslau Chyhir about the support the Foundation – The Fix Media’s sister organisation – provides to Ukrainian media.
Key points from our conversation:
▪️The Fix Foundation’s support for Ukrainian media started as emergency response in 2022, when approximately four million euros were raised for the sector – around three million went to sustain six months of operations for 13 leading national outlets, covering roughly 75% of their needs, alongside urgent safety supplies like bulletproof vests and helmets.
▪️Over four years, the work evolved from crisis mode to structured support. Since 2024, the Foundation has supported more than 400 journalists and approximately 113 media organizations overall, with 58 media supported in 2025 alone through the Voices of Ukraine program (run with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom).
▪️The core of current support is flexible technical equipment grants – up to €10,000 per media organization and €1,600 per journalist or freelancer. Newsrooms define what they actually need: in summer, it’s phones, cameras, and microphones; in winter, it’s power stations, batteries, and power banks to keep working through blackouts.
▪️Energy resilience remains the most critical need. Miraslau shared a story of a regional newsroom where work was entirely dictated by the blackout schedule until they received a portable power station – and a broadcaster that switched to a generator moments before a live program after a power cut.
Russia’s strategy is to grind Ukraine down. For Ukrainian media, that means the most serious challenges are audience fatigue and economic disruption. We reflect on four years of the full-scale invasion.
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How does a niche B2B publisher methodically expand across a continent? French media outlet Contexte is providing a masterclass. After 12 years of building a successful subscription business focused on French policy, the company has taken its first major step into the English-language market.
◼ Founded in 2013, Contexte helps professionals anticipate regulatory and political developments by blending in-depth journalism with technology. Their newsroom culture prioritises collaborative expertise to connect the technical details of policy with the political forces shaping it.
◼ The decision to expand was made in September 2023, followed by 20 months of careful preparation. "We had to create the basis for our company to become a European one," says Editorial Director Clémentine Forissier.
◼ Instead of simply translating content, Contexte developed a novel "adaptation" model. They created a single, integrated newsroom with a new role: the "adaptation editor." These journalists don't just translate; they re-angle and add context to stories for a different linguistic and national audience.
◼ "We're convinced that the newsroom, the collective is very important to produce the best information we can," Forissier explains.
◼ This strategic growth is backed by a strong, reader-first business model. Contexte is 100% team-owned and generates all its revenue from subscriptions, reaching €11.7 million in annual recurring subscription revenue in 2024.
◼ The first English-language vertical on Energy policy had the "best launch in Contexte history," and a Politics vertical is set to follow this winter. As CEO Jean-Christophe Boulanger wrote, "It’s such a joy to finally be broadening the scope of our offering — it’s something we’ve been working towards for 12 years."
◼ Contexte's journey highlights the power of a long-term vision, a unique editorial product, and a sustainable business model. Their "adaptation" approach offers a compelling alternative to simple translation in cross-border media.
❓ What do you think is the key to successfully scaling a niche media product into new markets?
📍 Read the full story on our website to learn more about their strategy.
Since its 2016 debut, Investigate Europe (IE) has become a model for cross-border journalism. As a cooperative, IE's members participate directly in decisions like hiring and funding. Over 10 years, it grew from a few members to a team of 18 journalists, producers, and managers across 10 countries.
The Fix talked with Editorial Director Mei-Ling McNamara and audience engagement producer Andrea Abellán about IE's unique model.
📰 Last week, we explored whether a membership-only model can survive in Austria’s concentrated media market, and learned how an Eastern European sports publisher leans on tech to build a global brand.
📍 Check out ways you can support our work with membership options.
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How does a sports publisher build a global audience of 12 million monthly visitors? By combining journalism, tech, and community into a single, powerful platform.
In our new FixEd podcast episode, host Orsolya Seregély speaks with Iryna Chernukha, Head of Partnerships at Tribuna, to unpack their impressive growth story: from launching club-specific apps in 24 hours to diversifying revenue through subscriptions, affiliate marketing, and advertising.
This conversation is packed with insights on audience loyalty, newsroom-tech collaboration, and why "second-screen" experiences are essential for survival.
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📰 Last week, we learned that selling online investigations in print is possible, and we explored the intricacies of running a volunteer-driven, all-female, distributed newsroom in CEE with our podcast guest Zsófi Borsi, editor of Lazy Women.
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How do you build a volunteer-driven, all-female newsroom that spans countries and backgrounds?
In the new FixEd podcast episode, Orsolya Seregély talks with Zsófi Borsi, editor of Lazy Women, about leading a distributed newsroom, understanding your audience, and amplifying women’s stories across Europe.
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Can you sell what you give away for free? A small investigative newsroom in France is doing just that.
Splann!, an independent online outlet, has started printing its long-form investigations and selling them as booklets for €10. It started as a way to offer a better reading experience but quickly turned into a solid new revenue source (bringing €12,000 in 2024 alone), and a bridge to readers who don't follow them online.
We spoke with project's coordinator Julie Lallouët-Geffroy to learn more.
As news anxiety and avoidance become growing challenges for the media industry, the Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has launched an innovative solution: SvD Kompakt. This new service aims to re-engage citizens with a more approachable and friendly tone. We discussed this with Inanna Lallerstedt, head of product and growth at Svenska Dagbladet.
◼ "We did a problem analysis where we saw that the news cycle causes anxiety, making people opt out of reading the news," explains Inanna Lallerstedt. "We thought maybe there could be an opportunity there to offer something new that is lighter with a personal style."
◼ SvD Kompakt presents news in a summarised form, often with a personal touch and a relaxed, humorous style. The goal is to provide a quick and comprehensible service for consumers with little time, leaving them feeling smarter and more informed without the associated stress.
◼ While it leverages the main news flow from its parent paper SvD, the Kompakt team focuses on creating unique content that differentiates it from a traditional news service. These articles have performed so well that they are now featured on the main Svenska Dagbladet front page, providing "an interesting mix and also a more positive feel in the news cycle."
◼ The results since its September 2023 launch are promising. SvD Kompakt requires a free subscription and has already attracted around 60,000 subscribers. Significantly, over 60% of these users are completely new to the Svenska Dagbladet brand, demonstrating its effectiveness in reaching untapped audiences.
◼ The key learning from this initiative, according to Lallerstedt, is to "dare to test new things... it's important that we as an industry do in order to remain relevant." She also emphasizes the importance of setting a clear purpose and involving diverse perspectives when innovating.
❓ SvD Kompakt's success highlights an effective path forward for media outlets navigating audience fatigue. What other strategies have you seen that effectively combat news avoidance?
📍 Read the full article on our website to learn more about this project.
Netherlands-based impact investment fund Pluralis announced its first Ukrainian investment – a welcome bright spot as Ukraine’s media sector grapples with the economic fallout of Russia’s invasion. The funds will help Ukrayinska Pravda, one of Ukraine’s leading digital publishers, launch and market its first-ever paywall.
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📰 Last week, we spoke to Venezuelan journalists exiled in Spain who are torn between hope and fear for the future and explored how Hungarian media is trying to reach international readers in English.
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Hiring great people is hard. Managing them is harder. And firing them is one of the toughest challenges any leader faces.
In our new FixEd podcast episode, The Fix’s Anton Protsiuk sits down with Daryna Shevchenko, CEO of the Kyiv Independent, for a masterclass in talent management. Daryna has scaled her team from an emergency startup to Ukraine's leading English-language voice—all while navigating the pressures of a full-scale war.
It's a conversation packed with practical lessons on hiring, developing talent, and making difficult decisions that are relevant to any media leader, especially in small and midsize newsrooms.
Listen to the full episode for invaluable insights on building a resilient team.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Anton Protsiuk and Daryna Shevchenko on:
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