On the 17th of September 2019, we hosted our second-panel discussion part of the #FutureOfJournalism series at the Goethe Institute. The discussion covered issues around Media Sustainability and Financing of Journalism. The discussion was facilitated by Francis Herd, News Anchor/Journalist from SABC News.

Philipp Schwörbel, Founder & CEO of The Membership Platform Steady from Germany spoke about “The big crisis in media funding. Two consequences. See less diversity and local media and then also undermining of quality”.

Phathiswa Magopeni, Head of News at SABC said “We know we are facing an uphill battle. Ethical actions are a competitive advantage but we need to show you.”

Siyabonga Africa, Program Officer at South Africa Innovation Program mentioned that “We provide mentors, help build capacity, offer memberships and seek funds elsewhere. There is a range of tools entities can use as a diversified model seems to offer the best chance for media”.

Carol Mohlala, Executive Director at Association for Independent Publishers added on “that one of the biggest mistakes we made was not to sit down and deal with infrastructure and cost. Now we see it is a problem.”