Mediabridge hopes to be the Airbnb of media. Here’s what they’re working on.
The digital marketplace aims to connect newsrooms so they collaborate on projects — and share the costs of coverage, say the team behind Mediabridge.
Takeaways
The current model for foreign reporting needs updating, especially for second-wave media companies and smaller news organizations that may not have the resources to fully invest in international coverage and distribution.
The purpose of Mediabridge is to make it easier and more accessible for newsrooms to collaborate regardless of location, with a special emphasis on elevating stories from underreported regions.
There is a lot to be excited about with Mediabridge’s proposal, but launching a new online marketplace is never easy. From building consumer trust to combatting disintermediation, the team offered thoughts on how the company plans to overcome potential challenges.
Context
Mediabridge — currently in closed beta — aims to connect underreported regions with trusted media outlets across the globe.
With funding from the Google Digital News Initiative, three Denmark-based media groups (IndieFrame, IMS, & Danwatch) have been working on the platform since early 2019.
At Splice Beta’s most recent BYOB (Bring Your Online Beverage) event, the minds behind Mediabridge gave us a sneak-peek into the future of the exciting new platform.
The project team
Megane Chatain is the Project Lead at IndieFrame, a platform working to streamline the media workflow by bringing together content creators and media outlets.
Henrik Grunnet is a Senior Advisor at IMS, the biggest media development organization in Scandinavia, focused on supporting countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity, and political transition.
Jesper Hyhne Petersen is the Editor-in-Chief at Danwatch, a Danish media and research center specialized in international investigative journalism.
The problem with international media today
Current methods of foreign reporting are imperfect. For many media organizations, parachute journalism (quick stints reporting from abroad with little formal background or context of the setting) is unsustainable and undesirable.
In some underreported areas, journalists are ignored and some of the most critical stories to go untold. A clear example of this is Yemen, which has become inaccessible for international media in recent years.
Online business models are broken. The dip in journalism revenue has reduced the number of journalists and subsequently the number of sources and exclusive stories that are immediately accessible.
Covid has accelerated these trends. With international travel heavily-restricted, increased audience migration to digital platforms, and a growing lack of stability worldwide, the potential market for a product like Mediabridge is expanding.
“One story becomes several and reaches audiences in multiples countries for a larger impact.”
— Megane Chatain, IndieFrame
How Mediabridge works
Journalists from underreported regions (typically in the Global South) post their pitches on the platform. Media outlets in other regions (such as Europe) can then sort through pitches based on keywords, locations, filters, etc.
Outlets are able to explore the story pitches in detail, reading up on both the strengths of a story (hypotheses, existing evidence, etc.) and its vulnerabilities (such as potential backlash, criticism, and safety risks).
After both parties express mutual interest and agree on the details of their contract, the project begins and Mediabridge’s in-house “virtual newsroom” product management tool becomes available.
A collaborative process of research and writing ensues. Once the final product is created, each newsroom is free to use the parts of the story that are most relevant to their regional coverage.
A Work in Progress
Building Mediabridge has not come without challenges. Here are just a few of the things the team has kept in mind while designing the platform:
Building consumer trust is perhaps one of the biggest challenges to creating a successful digital marketplace. Mediabridge aims to tackle this barrier through an extensive vetting process for both media outlets and reporters alike.
Disintermediation is another huge concern. To combat this issue, Mediabridge plans to provide a host of benefits exclusively for members, like insurance in the aforementioned in-house product management tool.
User experience. With the digital platform still in development, Mediabridge has been experimenting behind the scenes with “Handheld Collaborations.” These manual walkthroughs simulate the Mediabridge experience and have produced some pretty cool results.