Dataharvest 2025 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

All over Europe, small, independent media outlets are emerging, countering the decline in traditional media and the rise of misinformation. But they are still outnumbered and face significant challenges to their survival.
For the first time, facts about this new sector have been collected: a survey of 174 newsrooms from 31 European countries has pulled together knowledge about these small, often non-profit newsrooms. The survey, conducted by Netzwerk Recherche, shows fiery souls, great enthusiasm and professionalism, but also big challenges in funding and sustainability. What is the situation? Are some business models more suitable than others? What should be done to support the sector – and where could support come from?

Independent newsrooms are sprouting up all over Europe. Countering the decline in traditional media and the rise of misinformation, they are still outnumbered and face significant challenges to their survival. The Journalism Value Project (JVP) aims to advance knowledge of and debate around Europe’s independent media. As part of advancing the debate, the JVP partners have consulted with stakeholders from multiple sectors to better understand how they view, value and support journalism now and in the future and how public interest journalism is bringing social, cultural, democratic, and financial value to their community and society at large.
The Journalism Value Project (JVP) has put the spotlight on the societal value of independent journalism and the challenges it faces. The project includes a whitepaper about the needs of the future: Is there a place for these media? Are they a priority for funders, or for politicians at national and EU level? Must the newsroom find their own ways to become sustainable?

One of the biggest threats to a small newsroom is being faced with legal claims or lawsuits that will block publication, soak up all your energy and potentially empty your bank account. Claims may allege violations of privacy, defamation, or breach of confidentiality. In recent years attention has focused on SLAPPs (Strategic Legal Action against Public Participation) that aim to stop you in your tracks, prevent lawful investigations and halt discussion of matters of public interest.
How can you prevent this tactic and be prepared if it's used against you? Where can you go for support and help? Senior legal advisor Flutura Kusari from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, who has advised media and journalists pre- and post- publication, gives her advice and takes your questions.

As the gap between journalists and the public continues to grow, how can investigative newsrooms convince people that they still matter? “Impact journalism” may be one solution.
For six months, Disclose and Rembobine, two independent news organisations from France, have been collecting best practices from newsrooms around the world to monitor, assess and evaluate the echoes of their investigations. Their brand new guide to impact journalism, based on 30 interviews with researchers, editors and impact producers, will be published at Dataharvest.
Impact provides not only room for hope, but also a promising approach to increasing reader loyalty and foundation support.

Funding journalism is a recurring issue. In recent years, we’ve focused a lot on the ’how’: How to phrase an application, how to develop a realistic budget, how to reach out to potential funders. And we’ll continue with that, of course: but the question of how to fund public interest journalism has, if possible, become even more urgent. But we also need a deeper understanding, a shared terminology and fora to discuss these questions.
Brigitte Alfter will talk about the freshly released Arena Paper on fundraising. She is also the author of a GFMD paper on public funding to journalists and has been a speaker at ’Saving Journalism’ events at Columbia University, an annual conference on a wide variety of funding sources and funding models for journalism in our time.
The session will be followed by a fundraising café with advice on your project or for your organisation.