Monetization and trust in online innovative Dutch media outlets
An interview with Gyurka Jansen
Find Out Why is delighted to present Gyurka Jansen whose work has played an important role in the Dutch innovative media ecosystem.
In our discussion Gyurka Jansen shared his views on issues such as freelance journalism monetization systems and building online communities, instead of reaching out traditionally to an audience.
Furthermore he emphasized the importance of transparency and trust online and provided tips for outstanding content creation with high journalistic standards.
By Elena Gkiola
When did Dutch journalists and media outlets become interested in digitalization?
Only few years ago. Once it became clear that the Internet can be profitable, major and well-funded news outlets were getting a foothold online. Nevertheless now with the rise of social media platforms and the technological advancements even the largest media outlets are facing competition from individual content creators. It is getting easier and easier to publish multimedia: to publish text, to make videos, to make podcasts or to Photoshop images are some of the tasks that everyone can do now.
What was the drive for the innovation in the Dutch media landscape?
For all the new outlets, but also for traditional news outlets, one of the big questions was how to earn money online? Online platforms that exist for more than five years (like The Post Online, The Correspondent, Follow The Money) are those platforms that have really evolved. Nevertheless, traditional media outlets could invest more on digitalization so they could afford more mistakes.
Do journalists need online marketing today?
You have to sell yourself online and journalists are not necessarily the best salesmen. In addition when they look at the content that really works well online, journalists often dismiss it as cheap. In my opinion though popular digital publications might work well as an inspiration for journalism.
Is journalism still relevant in digital social platforms?
There are always those that try to trigger or cancel journalists online. However most people are not like that. They really want journalists to succeed and they appreciate a good story. Mainly they want to understand why journalists are choosing a certain angle. If a journalist is open to explain that, then the audience will respond positively. Trolls can always be blocked (laughs). People really do want to be exposed to new topics, there are still opportunities for real stories and real reporting.
How do you help journalists with your consulting?
Besides helping them with monetizing their work — install payment systems and other technicalities- I have done a lot of work in helping journalists to find their style online. I think journalists quite often need help in reaching their online audience and in creating engaging digital content. Of course they might know everything about illustrations and about using tables etc., but all those techniques need a “digital twist.”
You also support freelance journalists with your work at Reporters Online. What does this entail?
We provide a system where one can monetize their content. Nowadays this is possible via a donation plugin. We also provide the means to publish in Blendle. Blendle is a “digital kiosk”, where the audience can subscribe and have access in multiple publications. Journalists are rewarded with a small amount of money every time a Blendle subscriber reads their article.
Is this reward system better than donations?
Donations are by far the biggest revenue stream nowadays. Nevertheless donations work better for those successful journalists that are really good in community forming. It is important for the journalist to set up their own community with people who are really interested in what that particular journalist writes and what their opinion is. Usually the most successful journalists manage to influence the audience because they have sort of a hook somewhere: humor, empathy, or they might even tease the audience a bit — just enough to drag them to their reporting and the real stories. Afterall, the big promise of the Internet is that the world becomes one and you can meet anyone from any place, about any topic. I do like online communities and I do think that those work under certain conditions.
On which platforms usually journalists build their community?
On Twitter, Facebook… Of course the big app at this moment is Clubhouse that is setting up communities where people can enter and talk to each other in real time about all kinds of subjects. Platforms basically recreate society and the social need to connect with like-minded individuals.
How can journalists create and sustain an online community?
Young journalists can be traditionalists. Everyone wants to work at a big publication. Everyone wants to write big stories. However, I think that community forming often happens around smaller things.
How is trust built online?
There is hardly any control on the ethics or how online news content creators are gathering their information. People are re-blogging and re-creating all kinds of content. The circulation of false news has become a problem. In addition some users are getting dragged in online bubbles with extremist ideas. Nevertheless, the majority of the audience craves for real and reliable information. People question though what is a reliable source and why? I think that journalists are getting sometimes a bit uncomfortable with the idea that they are being questioned, but we now see that most major news outlets have at least some section on their website where they try to explain their editorial choices. Individual journalists are also quite willing to explain their reporting strategies. I believe that the audience feels more comfortable once the editorial process has become transparent.
Is the Dutch audience news literate?
People know that they are influenced by social media algorithms, but they are still on social media, right? They know that the content they get is biased in some way. Maybe the biggest fallacy is that we are really aware of the influence that all this content has on us. I myself have quite often find it difficult to just take a step back and realize that I am overfed with content on a very specific topic for example. How do I discover new things? It is really impossible sometimes . You get dragged into the same type of content again and again.
What is your go to advise to journalists when it comes to online content productions?
My biggest advice to journalists or content creators is to experiment with new things even if in the end they will have to discard some of these. Few years ago, some journalists thought that they should produce content on Snapchat because it was popular, but the platform did not really resonate with them. My advice was that if they did not feel like using it, they should discard it, because they would never going to make great content.
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