Digital news fund opens third round

South Africa’s independent news publishers have another opportunity to finance their move into digital media, with the Digital News Transformation Fund opening its third round of applications.

The fund offers project-based grants intended to help publishers attract larger audiences and build more sustainable businesses. The money is aimed at independent South African news organisations, from community publications taking their first steps online to established digital publishers preparing to expand.

Applicants are divided into four tiers according to the maturity of their digital operations.

The entry-level Ignite Tier provides up to R100,000 for organisations with no digital footprint. The Build Tier raises the ceiling to R380 000 for publishers developing basic infrastructure and digital skills.

Publishers with an existing online presence can apply for up to R950,000 through the Grow Tier, while the Engage Tier offers as much as R1.9-million to organisations with established digital strategies and plans to scale their operations.

The structure avoids treating every newsroom as if it faces the same digital problems. A small community newspaper still preparing its first website has different needs from a publisher already operating websites, apps, newsletters and WhatsApp channels.

Those differences have been visible in the first two funding rounds. The Digital News Transformation Fund committed more than R26-million to 43 publishers, with 21 organisations sharing R10.5-million in the first round and 22 receiving R15.8-million in the second.

Most of the money went to small operations. Forty of the 43 recipients were publishers attracting no more than 250,000 unique website visitors a month. Of these, 37 were classified as micro publishers, each reaching up to 50,000 monthly visits.

Beyond major cities

That reach goes beyond the major cities and national media groups.

“The first two rounds took the DNTF to grassroots organisations and journalists,” said Vincent Maher, co-chair of the fund’s board.

He said 39 of the grantees served rural, township, peri-urban or informal-settlement communities, while 28 published in a South African language other than English.

Publishers funded in the previous rounds serve areas including Qwaqwa, Giyani, Sekhukhune, Hammanskraal, Mamelodi, Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu, Matatiele, the Karoo, Orange Farm and Diepsloot, as well as informal settlements around Cape Town.

The fund’s language reach grew from four local languages in the first round to nine by the end of the second. Publications supported by the programme produce news in isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, isiNdebele and siSwati, among others.

For many of these publishers, digital transformation begins with basic tools that larger organisations take for granted. A functioning website, a mobile app or a properly managed WhatsApp channel can give a community newsroom a direct route to readers who rarely encounter its reporting through national platforms.

Digital distribution alone does not guarantee a viable news business. Publishers also need the skills and systems to manage audiences, advertising, subscriptions and other revenue sources. The larger funding tiers recognise that the next stage of digital publishing involves turning online reach into a business that can keep paying journalists.

Applications will be handled in two phases.

The first phase is an open call that tests eligibility and the proposed project’s strategic fit. Tshikululu Social Investments, which manages the fund, will screen applications for eligibility. An independent adjudication committee will score qualifying submissions, with decisions ratified by the fund’s Oversight and Advisory Board.

Publishers shortlisted during this process will be invited to submit full technical proposals in the second phase. Invitations are due to be issued during September and October.

Google and the Association of Independent Publishers created the fund, but neither organisation takes part in scoring applications or choosing recipients. Grant decisions are made through the independent adjudication and oversight structures.

The third round gives publishers at opposite ends of the digital scale access to the same programme without asking them to compete for identical projects. One applicant may need its first content-management system. Another may be ready to expand an app, introduce new commercial tools or take a successful community publishing model into more areas.

For the smallest newsrooms, even the R100 000 Ignite grant could provide the equipment, infrastructure and expertise needed to begin publishing online. At the top end, R1.9-million offers enough room for a more established operation to attempt a substantial expansion.

• Eligibility requirements and application details are available at dntfund.org.za.