Perugia, April 2025 – Members of Reference gathered in Perugia, Italy, in the frame of the International Journalism Festival to participate in a series of sessions dedicated to the future of independent, public-interest journalism in Europe. The meeting coincided with the launch of the Journalism Value Project (JVP) white paper, Shaping the Future of Journalism: … Read more
Berlin, December 2024 – In late November, members of the Reference network came together in Berlin for two days of lively discussions, reflection and forward planning. The gathering, which took place in the Publix building, also welcomed several Civitates grantees into the sessions, offered a space to take stock of the past year and set … Read more
On Thursday, 28 November, the Journalism Value Report was published, providing a detailed overview of the state of independent public interest journalism in Europe. Drawing on responses from 174 newsrooms across 31 countries, the report explores this growing sector’s challenges and opportunities. At Reference, we are committed to supporting independent public interest media, which provide … Read more
We’ve been having a lot of valuable conversations recently, both inside the network and outside of it. Some key questions at the centre of the Journalism Value Project are What is the value of independent public interest journalism? and How can it be better supported? Answers to these might be obvious to those working in the space: incredibly important … Read more
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How can independent public interest journalism convert its public value into financial value? With the Journalism Value Project, we aim to find that out.
On Friday 2 June 2023, at Dataharvest in Mechelen, we hosted a Design Thinking for Solidarity workshop, bringing together approximately 15 participants from the Reference Circle network and grantees by Civitates. The two networks co-organized the workshop. We set out to explore ways to promote solidarity among audiences within the European public-interest media sector. Below … Read more
Earlier this month, 24 leaders of independent media organisations from across Europe gathered in Belgium to work on solving shared challenges together. At this Reference Circle meet-up at Dataharvest, one of two in-person network meetings we hold each year, we created space for discussions about developing the network, as well as working on specific challenges … Read more
Announcing our new project to support European public-interest media to become financially sustainable through better monetising the value they provide to society.
A few weeks ago, members of Reference went to speak, listen, learn and be inspired at the 17th International Journalism Festival in Perugia. Here we’ve collected some reflections on our experience, what we learned this year, and what we hope for next year’s festival. Highlights Networking & inspiration “If there is a paradise for journalists, … Read more