In a country where major broadcast networks are owned by politicians, business elites or government institutions, and news coverage of domestic issues is often colored by these affiliations, The Centrum Media (TCM) started its journey in 2017 with a mission to offer nonpartisan and contextualized reporting, catering to young Pakistanis seeking unbiased information. From a small room with a handful of passionate journalists, TCM has grown into one of Pakistan’s most prominent digital news platforms, Our reporting is recognizable through its snappy video editing and explanatory style. Despite the fact that Pakistan ranks 152 out of 180 in the 2024 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, TCM continues to shed light on issues that mainstream media often avoids, including military’s interference in politics, transgender rights, bonded slavery, and others. Over a billion views, three million followers, and more than 7,000 videos later, TCM persists in pushing the boundaries of independent journalism.

Finding the right focus

Having been at the forefront of Pakistan’s digital media industry since 2017, TCM’s decision to apply for the accelerator was a strategic move to explore innovative avenues for diversifying our reach and revenue streams, while ensuring long-term sustainability, as Pakistan’s mainstream media outlets with their extensive infrastructure and decades of establishment, already had a significant advantage over us. When TCM joined the accelerator program, our initial focus was on a largely untapped segment in Pakistan—hyperlocal news. We aimed to create a sustainable model for covering grassroots issues, often ignored by larger media outlets. However, it soon became evident that the resource-intensive nature of this ambition required a stronger financial foundation. The accelerator helped us identify a critical gap: the need for a robust capital generation strategy. This realization shifted our focus toward exploring crowdfunding as a sustainable revenue model to support our journalism.

A key question loomed large: Why would people pay for journalism when similar content is often available for free?

Leveraging crowdfunding with audience listening

Crowdfunding wasn’t entirely new to TCM; we had experimented with it in the past, but the results were less than encouraging. For instance, we placed one of our exclusive series about one of Pakistan’s most prolific scammers, Double Shah, behind a paywall on Patreon. However, this initiative faced significant obstacles due to limited access to payment gateways like PayPal in Pakistan and the relatively low adoption of online banking in the country. A key question loomed large: Why would people pay for journalism when similar content is often available for free? Surveys and focus groups conducted during the accelerator revealed that we lacked a clear understanding of our audience and their needs. By adopting the data-driven approach taught during the program, we gained valuable insights into the needs of both our local and diaspora audiences. This deeper understanding revealed that certain topics resonated strongly with our diaspora audience, prompting us to strategically shift some of our resources to cover these areas. Additionally, we recognized the potential of refocusing our crowdfunding model to better engage and cater to the diaspora audience, who are often more inclined and better positioned to support independent journalism financially.

The accelerator program has been transformative for TCM, equipping us with the tools to reimagine our approach to audience engagement and revenue generation.

What’s next for TCM

Building on these insights, we have developed a strategy to launch our upcoming series, The Spy Diaries, using our crowdfunding model. This series will feature exclusive interviews with former intelligence officials and spies from around the world, including the CIA, KGB, RAW, and other agencies, offering an in-depth exploration of their lives during and after their time in the shadowy world of espionage. The Spy Diaries was specifically selected for the crowdfunding model due to the significant resources it requires, including hiring fixers, arranging travel and accommodation for interviews, and working with freelance production teams to bring the series to life. This represents a pivotal step in our journey, combining the lessons learned during the accelerator with our mission to innovate digital journalism in Pakistan. However, we remain committed to our original goal of addressing hyperlocal news. Once our crowdfunding model achieves sustainability, we will redirect our efforts toward empowering local communities. Through this initiative, community members will be able to report on local issues that matter to them, using their smartphones to capture stories from their surroundings. TCM, after due-diligence, will amplify their voices by offering its platform as a space for these stories to reach a broader audience.

The accelerator program has been transformative for TCM, equipping us with the tools to reimagine our approach to audience engagement and revenue generation. It has also reaffirmed our belief that innovation and adaptability are essential to the future of journalism. Looking ahead, TCM aims to deepen its connection with its audience, expand its portfolio of investigative series, and explore new storytelling formats to remain at the forefront of Pakistan’s digital media landscape.

The Centrum Media was one of the participants in IPI’s Local News Accelerator 2024, part of the Media Innovation Europe (MIE) project, co-funded by the European Union. The MIE programme is led by the International Press Institute, implemented in collaboration with Thomson Media, the Fix Foundation and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).