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Foreign News Startups, Global Advocacy Organizations, and Limits of Entrepreneurialism

Sun, May 28, 11:00 to 12:15, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Floor: 3, Aqua 309

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between virtual foreign bureaus (VFBs) — digitally native news startups specializing in foreign news — and global advocacy organizations like Open Society and the Gates Foundation. VFBs aiming for quality in-depth news coverage often look to such groups for seed money. However, advocacy groups expect to see proof of “impact,” leading many to become obsessed with traffic that can be easily measured. Advocacy organizations also act like venture capital investors by requiring recipients to make progress towards financial independence. Drawing on interviews with both parties, this paper shows how walls meant to ensure editorial independence are often porous. Moreover, the oligopolistic power of global advocacy organizations limits the capacity of VFBs to seek alternative funding sources. The paper suggests that the logics of Silicon Valley entrepreneurialism pervade the world of the VFBs as well as their funders in a way that persistently challenges their mission.

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