Kosovo 2.0 is an independent media organisation established in 2010 as Kosovo’s very first blogging platform. Over the years, K2.0 transitioned to an online magazine model, expanded and established itself as a critical and credible journalistic voice in the country and beyond. K2.0 is committed to explanatory, contextual and narrative journalism, where telling stories inspires debate, understanding and change.
This March, a year after they joined the Media Innovation Europe project, K2.0 launched a membership model, making them the first independent media in Kosovo that introduces this type of business model.
Besa Luci, editor-in-chief of Kosovo 2.0 shares how this idea was developed, as well as her observations on the importance of audience support for the independent media.
“At the beginning of the project, along with our mentor Željko Crnjaković, we worked on a strategy for diversifying revenue. We discussed different streams of revenue generation, including donations. We did not want to use Paywall for our content, but we wanted to find a way for our readers to support us. The membership model came as a result of these discussions.”
Their membership framework, named HIVE, offers subscribers exclusive content through a dedicated newsletter across various package tiers. These include editor's picks, behind-the-scenes insights, interviews detailing story genesis, alongside access to image galleries, audio blogs, and the opportunity to influence future publications. Moreover, subscribers can engage in live chats with journalists and the K2.0 team.
“We are offering our readers to get to know us better, to get to know the people behind the website. We would like to have a sincere relationship with the members of HIVE and for them to understand us better.
But what the audience should know is that this is a very important step in supporting independent journalism.
If you really want to stay independent, you have to think outside the box. We are constantly thinking of ways to offer something truly different and to improve. In an era marked by a decline in journalism quality, such support is invaluable”, Besa highlights.
The membership model was based on the team’s experience and insights, rather than formal market analysis. They used their old projects to understand the needs of their audience. As an independent media it was not easy establishing a payment system, but Besa says they are ready for the next step and along with it, new ways to improve.
“The biggest challenge, so far, has been to devise a payment system and deal with the issues with the bank. But I believe the real challenges will arise post-launch, when time comes for the model to be updated. We will collect feedback and adjust. Throughout this project we kept asking ourselves: Are we providing enough? Is this something people are willing to pay for? Internally, we believe people will decide to become members because they want to support our work in general. “
Besa explains that the diaspora and people abroad who have an interest in Kosovo and the region are their most consistent audience. Additionally, younger demographics, aged 18-22, consistently engage with Kosovo 2.0 content. The HIVE will represent another layer of connection between the readers and the team. She adds that all the additional content included in the packages relates to their past work that resonated well with their readers.
“I feel like we forgot about the importance of maintaining the relationship with the public and we need to talk more about these issues, for everyone’s benefit.
We assume that people do not want to pay for information, or that they do not want to read long stories, but that is not true. We should challenge these assumptions. A few years ago, we started a long-form section. Since then, every year when we do a yearly overview of stats, we see that five out of our top ten most-read stories are those long forms. If you are honest and keep credibility and quality, people will want to support you“, Besa concludes.
To support Kosovo 2.0 and learn more about their membership model, visit their website: https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/support-us/.
