From today, the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF) is inviting independent news publishers with less than £2m turnover to complete the 2022 Index of Independent News Publishing survey. The survey is open to professional providers of public interest news that produce primarily text-based reporting.
The 2022 PINF Index is our second annual survey. Last year’s Index made quite a splash. In the words of Press Gazette, it showed the ‘broken link between reach and revenue as 56 independent publishers reach 10.1m but earn just £5.4m combined.’ The Economist said that it showed how ‘industry consolidation is taking a toll’ in the media.
At PINF, we also use the Index to inform our conversations with policymakers. One important official told us that ‘whilst we were aware of the particular issues facing independent news publishers, this new evidence is really valuable to see.’
And we have brought the Index to the attention of funders in the US and the UK. So far, with the support of our start-up funders, we have provided over £100,000 in grants to independent news publishers. We want to go much further than this, so we urgently need to build our evidence base.
But we can only do that with your help.
If you are an independent publisher, please complete the survey. If you know an independent publisher, please forward them the link. Completing this survey is one of the most valuable things you can do to support the independent news movement.
We estimate it will take around 30 minutes to complete, so get yourself a cup of tea before starting! You’ll need some figures on things like content, revenue and distribution. So long as you allow the cookies, and use the same browser and device, you can keep returning to the survey to complete it over time.
As a small token of appreciation, PINF will send the first 100 successful completions a £10 book token to spend at independent bookshops. The survey will close to responses at the end of February.
The survey is written and designed in partnership with Clare Cook and Coral Milburn-Curtis. Together we will crunch the numbers and write up our findings by late spring.
As more publishers complete the survey in future years, we will build an ever-more comprehensive picture of this sector – helping us to meaningfully support public interest news publishers, and, in turn, communities throughout the UK.
The Index is a significant part of PINF’s charitable purpose to promote public understanding and knowledge of the principles and practice of investigating, reporting and disseminating public interest news.
Last year’s Index was featured in The Economist, Press Gazette and other publications.
We are very grateful for your time – thank you!
If you have any questions, you can contact Joe Mitchell at PINF or Coral Milburn-Curtis (email in the survey link).