Mapping the Money in Public Media

Public media’s opportunities exceed its challenges. Digital interactivity is tailor-made for public media projects that incorporate grassroots creativity, deep-dive examinations of complex issues, and connections to civic activism. Participatory tools and platforms give public media makers the means to secure their own financial futures. For many startups, it is an arduous task creating new paradigms. For legacy media organizations with deeply rooted infrastructure and entrenched, decaying business models, the hurdles to transformation are formidable. However, digital disruption can be harnessed by both as a creative and economic force to redefine the connections of public media projects to their core constituents, including content producers, sponsors and consumers. This is an overview of some emerging business models as they might apply to public media operations, and especially to public broadcasters.