From visibility to viability: Lessons from the Samir Kassir Foundation’s approach to media sustainability
Independent media around the world are facing unprecedented challenges. Political pressure, shrinking revenues, disinformation, declining public trust, and rapidly changing technologies are reshaping the media landscape, placing increasing strain on journalists and news organisations alike.
These pressures are particularly acute for independent and public-interest media, which play a vital role in supporting informed communities, democratic accountability, and civic participation. Yet across many countries, financial sustainability remains one of the greatest threats to their long-term survival.
It is against this backdrop that BRAVE Media was launched about a year ago. The three-year global initiative, led by BBC Media Action and co-funded by the European Commission, brings together nine organisations working across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America to strengthen independent media through mentoring, technical support, cross-regional learning, innovation, and financial assistance. WAN-IFRA is a proud member of the BRAVE Media consortium.
A key component of the programme is a peer-to-peer webinar series organised by WAN-IFRA, designed to connect media practitioners with proven approaches, practical tools, and lessons learned from across the sector. Drawing on expertise from organisations including Factcheck.kz, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), the Arab Fact-Checkers Network from ARIJ, SembraMedia, MediaNet International Centre for Journalism, and the Samir Kassir Foundation (SKF), the series explored topics ranging from misinformation and fact-checking to artificial intelligence, media sustainability, and revenue diversification.
The goal of the series was to create a collaborative space where participants can learn from real-world case studies, openly discuss shared challenges, and exchange practical solutions that strengthen the resilience of independent media and civil society organisations.
It was during one of these BRAVE webinars, focused on media sustainability and revenue diversification, that SKF shared three innovative initiatives it has developed to help independent media and journalists navigate an increasingly challenging operating environment.
Through the Agency for Equality, Skroll, and Soora, SKF is exploring practical approaches to one of the sector’s most pressing questions: how can independent media become more financially resilient while preserving their editorial independence?
“Donor funding remains essential for public-interest journalism, safety, innovation, and capacity building,” SKF explains. “But media organisations must increasingly diversify their income streams to reduce dependency and strengthen their editorial independence.”
As donor funding becomes more constrained and unpredictable, SKF saw a need to complement traditional support models with initiatives that help media organisations strengthen their resilience, autonomy, and economic viability.
Three initiatives, one shared objective
While the Agency for Equality, Skroll, and Soora address different challenges, they share a common goal.
“All three were designed to strengthen the sustainability, visibility, and economic resilience of independent media and journalists,” SKF says. “The Agency for Equality empowers outlets to diversify their revenue streams; Skroll gives them the space to reach wider and more diversified audiences; and Soora aims to ensure photojournalists’ work is not in vain but rather a source of income as it should be.”
Reclaiming advertising through the Agency for Equality
The Agency for Equality was created to help independent media access advertising and communications markets that are often dominated by larger commercial players.
Rather than viewing advertising as incompatible with public-interest journalism, SKF saw an opportunity.
“We saw an opportunity to help independent media maximise their potential by leveraging their creative and production strengths to access advertising and communications markets,” SKF explains. “Their ability to compete in these spaces is rooted in their editorial integrity and public-interest values, while ensuring that any revenue generation remains aligned with those principles.”
The initiative demonstrates that advertising can be approached differently, not as a compromise to editorial independence, but as a tool for sustainability when grounded in ethical partnerships and mission-driven work.
Building collective visibility through Skroll
For many independent media organisations, producing quality journalism is only part of the challenge. Ensuring that audiences can actually find that journalism in an increasingly fragmented digital environment is another.
SKF’s response was independent media aggregator Skroll.
“Skroll was built on the belief that independent media are stronger when they are more discoverable collectively,” SKF says. “It helps audiences access credible journalism while reducing the visibility challenges created by fragmented digital platforms and algorithms.”
The initiative reflects a broader philosophy that collaboration can be a powerful sustainability strategy.
In a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by algorithms and dominant platforms, collaboration allows independent media to pool resources, expand audience reach, reduce costs, and develop shared solutions that would be difficult to achieve alone.
Creating fairer opportunities for photojournalists through Soora
While media sustainability discussions often focus on newsrooms and publishers, SKF recognised that individual journalists face many of the same economic challenges. This is particularly true for photojournalists, whose work is in high demand but often undervalued.
“The cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words has gained significant meaning in recent years, especially in light of regional conflicts and war,” SKF notes. “Truth emerges clearly in documented visual journalism.”
Photojournalists play a vital role in documenting social, political, and humanitarian realities, yet many struggle to secure fair compensation for their work despite growing demand for high-quality visual storytelling.
Conversations with photographers repeatedly highlighted challenges around ownership, market access, and fair remuneration. These concerns helped shape Soora, a platform that connects photojournalists directly with buyers while allowing them to retain full earnings from their work.
The initiative aims not only to create new revenue opportunities, but also to recognise the value of visual journalism and the professionals who produce it.
The power of collaboration
Although each initiative takes a different approach, SKF emphasises that collaboration has been central to their success.
“Collaboration has been fundamental, as sustainable solutions for independent media increasingly require partnerships that bring together diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives.”
Whether connecting media organisations with advertisers, bringing independent publishers together on a shared platform, or linking photojournalists directly with buyers, each initiative relies on building relationships and creating value through cooperation.
This collaborative mindset also underpins SKF’s belief that these models can travel beyond their original context.
While developed in response to specific local needs, SKF believes that the principles behind the initiatives; shared infrastructure, collaborative visibility, and diversified revenue generation have relevance across many media ecosystems facing similar challenges.
Looking ahead
For media organisations beginning their own sustainability journey, SKF encourages a practical and incremental approach.
“Start by identifying your strongest assets, understanding your audience and market, and testing practical, mission-aligned revenue opportunities that can grow incrementally over time.”
After years of supporting journalists and media organisations across the region, one lesson stands out clearly:
“We have learned that financial sustainability and editorial independence are not competing objectives but mutually reinforcing conditions for producing impactful public-interest journalism.”
This belief lies at the heart of SKF’s contribution to BRAVE Media: supporting locally led solutions that help independent media build resilience in increasingly challenging environments.
Despite the pressures facing journalism today, SKF remains optimistic.
Around the world, journalists continue to work under extraordinary circumstances. In some cases, they face shrinking revenues and declining trust. In others, they confront censorship, harassment, imprisonment, and even threats to their lives. Yet they continue to adapt, innovate, and serve their communities.
More than two decades after the assassination of journalist and historian Samir Kassir for freely expressing his opinions, SKF continues to see journalists and media creators carrying forward the values he stood for, often without ever having known him.
Some media platforms in Lebanon that began as simple social media pages now influence public debate and policymaking at the highest levels. In Palestine, journalists continue reporting from tents using only their phones after war destroyed the newsrooms and equipment they spent years building. Across the region, media professionals continue serving their communities despite censorship, harassment, and insecurity.
Their determination, SKF says, demonstrates the enduring relevance of independent journalism and reinforces the importance of supporting media organisations that serve the public interest.
At a time when threats to press freedom, media independence, and public trust are growing across the world, including in established democracies, these efforts serve as a reminder that sustainability is not only about keeping media organisations afloat. It is about ensuring that communities continue to have access to trusted, independent information and that journalism can continue to fulfil its essential role in society.
Farah Wael is the Director of Advocacy and Engagement for Women in News (WIN), the global programme founded in 2010 by WAN-IFRA to advance gender equality and inclusion in the media industry.
