Media cooperatives are a form of
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
that report on news based on the geographic location of their membership, or the general interests of the membership. Often they are a form of
alternative media, critical of mainstream perspectives, with progressive society stances. However, several cooperatives outside of
the West are established mainstream media outlets. Media cooperatives often unite customers and service providers to oppose a pure
profit motive
In economics, the profit motive is the motivation of firms that operate so as to maximize their profits. Mainstream microeconomic theory posits that the ultimate goal of a business is "to make money" - not in the sense of increasing the firm's s ...
in the media. In contrast to
mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...
companies, media cooperatives are able to report independently, due to the minimization of the
Principal–agent problem
The principal–agent problem refers to the conflict in interests and priorities that arises when one person or entity (the "agent") takes actions on behalf of another person or entity (the " principal"). The problem worsens when there is a gre ...
. Media cooperatives are growing in popularity as a form of organization for media reporting, however access to capital and lack of awareness in society present challenges to proliferation.
Examples are: in Germany ''
Junge Welt'' (1947) and ''
Die Tageszeitung
''Die Tageszeitung'' (, “The Daily Newspaper”), is counted as being one of modern Germany's most important newspapers and amongst the top seven. taz is stylized as ''die tageszeitung'' and commonly referred to as ''taz'', is a cooperative-own ...
'' (1978), in Italy ''
Il manifesto'' (1969), in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
''
WOZ Die Wochenzeitung'' (2012) and in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
''
Voxeurop'' (2014). In
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, there is also the "media puzzle factory" as an association of providers to the media and cultural industry.
Some media cooperatives publish the local edition of ''
Le Monde diplomatique
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs.
The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
''.
Types of Media Cooperatives
Consumer
A consumer coop is owned and funded by the consumers of the service. In the context of a media co-operative, consumers would be the readers, watchers, or listeners. Membership fees could be monthly, annually, or a one-time membership fee could be applied. Consumer owned Media Coops sometimes augment their funding with advertisements or government grants.
Multi-Stakeholder
Multi-Stakeholder media coops are the more prominent type of media cooperative. Multi-stakeholder means that cooperative funding could come from worker-owners, consumers, business, or government. Multi-stakeholder coops have more complex ownership structures, and editorial direction and independence is potentially more opaque than a full consumer-owned, or full worker-owned cooperative. The realities of capital access in the modern age usually require that new media cooperatives approach financing via this method.
Worker
Worker-owned media cooperatives are organized in a way that the journalists and other staff of the cooperative control and receive profit from the media cooperative. Worker owned cooperatives are usually smaller, due to scarce access to capital, and less mainstream politically compared to major media outlets. Well financed worked-owned media cooperatives exist, usually due to long periods of operation, capital generation, and prudent financial management.
List of media cooperatives
References
{{Reflist
Alternative journalism