MOST is an independent media outlet aimed at being a bridge between the people of the Transnistrian region, the rest of Moldova and the world. They provide objective, professional, and fact-based reporting about developments in the region, creating space for quality journalism in an environment where independent media is almost non-existent. During the New Media Incubator, they advanced their content development processes and explored sustainable revenue streams.
Increasing reach in a challenging information environment
The information space in the Transnistrian region is largely controlled by the unrecognised de facto authorities. As independent journalism is almost absent, residents of the region have limited access to alternative sources of information. The emergence of MOST as a new independent media project became an important step toward building a more open and objective information environment.
As a new outlet, building a strategy to reach wider audiences and increase visibility in the region was critical for MOST. Together with their coach, Fabienne Meijer, they strengthened their vertical video production by developing a flexible scripting system for short-form videos, which significantly improved both the speed and quality of the production process. Since October, the team has created around 120 short videos for TikTok and other platforms, some reaching over 100,000 views.
Today, MOST has become one of the most popular media outlets in the region – during the Incubator, their following grew from 800 to 3000 on Telegram, from 1000 to 5000 on TikTok and from 3000 to 5000 on YouTube.
Monetising unique expertise
At the same time, the team aimed to build a Patreon community to support their financial sustainability. However, they realised that the opportunities for growing such a model in their context are limited – lower income levels and the lack of a strong culture of financially supporting independent media make crowdfunding particularly difficult.
This required MOST to pivot and rethink their approach. As a specialised media outlet, they decided to turn their strong journalistic expertise on Transnistria into a new product: “MOST Insight”, a paid analytical weekly newsletter focused on developments in the region. The product is designed for experts, think tanks, international organisations, and diplomatic missions interested in regional developments. It offers concise summaries of the week’s key events, important signals, insider information, and reactions, alongside context and analytical commentary.
Currently, MOST Insight generates nearly 10% of MOST’s budget, showing promising potential to significantly improve the newsroom’s financial sustainability and strengthen the project’s independence.
“Participating in the Media Incubator became a truly important stage in MOST’s development. We gained not only new knowledge and practical tools, but also managed to transform them into tangible results — audience growth, increased visibility, and the launch of a new sustainable product. We are very grateful to have been part of this programme and would like to sincerely thank our mentor Fabienne, as well as the entire IPI team, for a genuinely valuable and practical experience that has already translated into real results for our project.”
The New Media Incubator is part of the Media Innovation Europe programme (MIE), made possible with the support of the European Union.
