Valerio Bassan: A Journalist in Search of Change

In the past five years, Valerio Bassan lived in three of the world's top metropolis: Berlin, Milan and New York. Ambition drives the 30 year-old native of Cesano Maderno, a town of 37,110 inhabitants in Northern Italy. He wants to find a solution for the news industry. Moving to a new city, he said, is like entering an amusement park: scary, but exciting. Almost the same as being a journalist these days. "We don’t have much to lose at this point," he said.

Why did you move to New York?

I felt that at this point of my career I wanted to improve my knowledge of the business side of journalism. There are some exceptions, but in Europe most outlets are stuck to an old business model. Most publishers are not investing in innovation. In the Tow-Knight, the environment somehow gives you the chance to try new things without the pressure to succeed.

I have always been fascinated with America, and thought of living here for a while. I really wanted to move to San Francisco when I was a teenager. I was there with my parents, it was my first trip outside of Europe, and I fell in love with the city. That imaginary of the US that stayed with me for a long time. I have a one dollar bill from that trip that I still carry with me!

Moving to New York was a dream that came true?

I grew up, I lived abroad. I’m not that person anymore. I don't feel NY as the US that I was thinking of at that time. I kind of feel disconnected with the US after what happened with Trump. But there's an American dream in Europe. If you live in London, it's great, but if you live in the US, it's amazing.

Why did you move to Germany?

I was in a relationship and we both decided to go there. It was a place where I had no connections. Berlin was like a desert, a little scary, but also exciting. It's the sensation you have when you are entering a theme park attraction: you know its going to be fine, but its a bit scary. I was fascinated by the cultural part of the city. I moved there in 2012 and came back to Italy in 2015.

How's your German?

I had a day-by-day German, but working in German is another thing. I launched a project for Italian people in Germany, Il Mitte, with my partner at the time, there was a big audience of Italians moving to Berlin. It was just the two of us at the beginning, then it grew bigger and other people wanted to contribute. At first we hardly could raise money to make it work, but after one year it became bigger. I was going door to door chasing advertisers. Then I started bringing Italian bands to play in Berlin, it was an alternative business model that kind of worked. I lived out of it for almost two years.

What happened to it?

I sold it when I wanted to go back to Italy. I had a job offer there and I felt that because of my German I could not grow much. I wanted to change something.

What do you fear the most?

I have this feeling that I want something more. Grow professionally, become a better person. I feel a bit displaced for being around the world. So, what are the reference points I can hang on? I miss that. When you move often, it's hard to just be consistent with yourself. I fear to not being able to settle and work on myself as much as I want to, but being drawn by instincts and opportunities instead.

What do you want to take out from the Tow Knight program?

An entrepreneurial mindset. Not just from the editorial side, but from the business side of it. I’m used to focus on the editorial, think of what we need to have on the page. I want to be able to approach both sides, how to make it work editorially and financially, not to be scared of trying something new.

What's your biggest ambition?

To find a solution. For the whole industry sounds crazy, but something most publications can apply. There has never been so much good content out there. What's the missing link? Sometimes I think about the music industry, they are a few steps ahead of the news industry. We need to keep the disruption going but bring some results at some point. I just think it's an exciting moment to be in this field. We don't have much to lose at this point.