THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
On Labor Day, May 1, participants in the webinar called Multi-Brand Newsroom. Diversification Strategy For Newsrooms, organized by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) in partnership with Fondation Hirondelle and the International Institute for Regional Media and Information (IRMI, Ukraine), learned how to create and develop successful media using new platforms and opportunities, primarily digital ones.
Such an approach is particularly appropriate for local Ukrainian media, which lost funding and delivery channels for newspapers during the full-scale invasion and the possibility to work; due to hostilities, newsroom staff had to move to other regions of Ukraine and even abroad. A number of newspapers were shut down.
“The NUJU, which has been helping journalists and newsrooms to continue and resume work since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, knows very well what problems arise when the newsroom loses the opportunity to work in the pre-war regime. In conditions of lack of resources, combining efforts and opportunities to achieve a large-scale result is very important. In many areas, local media is the only reliable and verified information source. So, with the support of partners, we aim to help local media with tools and knowledge to increase the sustainability of local media. The topic of diversification is relevant both for newsrooms that have found themselves in the war zone and for local media, which with the start of a full-scale war suddenly lost all sources of income and earning opportunities,” said NUJU First Secretary Lina Kushch.
Ukraine already has experience in creating and developing media on new platforms. So, it can be used by local media to get a mighty push at the start and support.
The main speaker at the webinar/ head of the SID Media Group non-governmental organization, R&D Rayon.in.ua, Nataliya Pakhaichuk, shared her experience of how the Volyn regional newspaper Simiya&Dim [Family and Home] grew into a powerful multi-brand holding, which is taking more and more space in the media market thanks to the diversification strategy.
“SID Media Group has unique experience in media development. Perhaps our path will inspire someone else to do something similar or to come up with their own model,” noted Nataliya Pakhaichuk.
According to her, it all started with the private newspaper Simiya&Dim founded by Ivan Korsak in 1996. It then quickly developed into a publication of large circulation and, a few years later, became a holding company, which included FM radio and the Simeinyi Poradnyk [Family Adviser] magazine. Subsequently, it was decided to reorganize the company through digitalization and build a multi-brand company to provide the audience with quality content named SID Media Group. This is a national network of hyperlocal media under the Rayon.in.ua brand. It operates in the Volyn, Rivne, Lviv, and Zakarpattia Regions. Recently, the Kherson Region has been added to this list. The title site functions as an aggregator, where the news feed contains the most important events from each region.
“Diversify and become a monopolist,” Nataliya Pakhaichuk repeated this slogan more than once during the webinar, noting that the success of the model chosen by the company is proven in practice. In particular, last year, the audience of Rayon.in.ua exceeded 12 million users.
Now Rayon.in.ua has six franchise sites and ten thematic sites that make up a standalone lineup. According to Nataliya Pakhaichuk, the umbrella principle applied by the company turned out to be very successful.
“This model is not resource-intensive because the relevant content from the news site, with appropriate refinement, is transferred to the thematic resource – business, historical, environmental, etc. Creating a separate edition requires additional funds, employees, etc. And we only receive additional audience,” Nataliya Pakhaichuk notes.
She advises everyone who wants to use SID Media Group cases in their work not to be afraid to introduce something new or make a mistake.
“We are constantly working on issues of sustainability. We have a general network strategy; we try to write a mini-strategy, marketing, and fundraising strategy for each of our projects and gradually move on. Media is not only about journalism. Media is a broad environment where people with different abilities and skills can find themselves. It took me three years to study design and management work. And only now can I share my experience. We are still learning, looking for different tools, experimenting,” notes Nataliya.
According to her, if a print media has at least 500 subscribers, it should not be shut down because the subscription is currently the only model that allows newspapers to survive.
“There are newsrooms with 500 subscribers, their fans, but think that this number is a small circulation, and start considering their shutdown. But, having 500 people ready to give money to the newsroom regularly is fantastic,” the expert noted.
At the same time, print media newsrooms should diversify their work, develop two audiences simultaneously, newspaper and online, and use websites and social media networks, adapting for different platforms.
When expanding your media influence online, Nataliya Pakhaichuk recommends:
- Shape the idea of a new or renewed media;
- Develop a strategy and work rules;
- Imagine the demand of your audience and the possibilities of its expansion;
- Not delay the idea’s embodiment: it should take you 48 hours to move from an idea to its implementation;
- Diversify sources of financing: advertising, grant support, scholarships, crowdfunding, etc.
Talking about the prospects for the further geographical expansion of Rayon.in.ua, Nataliya Pakhaichuk drew attention to expanding the platform to the de-occupied territories, where the media needs support. She offered media workers from the de-occupied territories to use the company’s site for free.
In particular, a corresponding site was created in Kherson in just 24. So far, it has worked almost on a volunteer basis, but funding for the Kherson network was provided in May. Then it is a matter of building a business model to ensure sustainability.
After discussing the issue of diversification, Lina Kushch, summing up the event, drew the attention of media managers to a number of nuances that they should take into account if they decide to diversify the work of their media:
“First of all, understand who you work for. Segment the audience as carefully as possible, as narrowly as possible, defining the needs of each segment and creating your product for each segment. Do not postpone the idea of creating a new product for a long time; try to implement it within two days. Stay in touch with your audience. Try to identify aspects when you can ask for support from your readers or subscribers. Don’t be afraid of digital platforms. Carefully prescribe strategies and daily work rules, which is especially important during the growth of the media, the launch of new projects, and the increase in the number of employees.”
The webinar was held by the NUJU with the support of the Swiss non-profit organization Fondation Hirondelle and the IRMI as part of a project financed by Swiss Solidarity.
Inna Kosianchuk
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