No sponsors or advertising, economic transparency and the absence of shareholding are some of the characteristics of the newspaper La Marea
It has been more than 10 years since La Marea was born. The first issue of the newspaper went on sale on December 21, 2012. From then until today, the principles that move its journalists have not moved in the slightest. Formed by a group of former workers of the former print newspaper Público, one of the values for which they most advocate is freedom.
In 2008, the world economic crisis began, which also affected Spain. In the area that concerns us, the media were also affected by the economic recession. According to the Madrid Press Association, 579 media in Spain were born at that time, many of which could not succumb to the effects of the crisis. A deep reflection was carried out on the strategies and communication models within the sector due to the fall in the number of readers and investment in advertising.
After the bankruptcy of the newspaper Público and the dismissal of 130 workers, many former employees decided to found a cooperative, called MásPúblico Sociedad Cooperativa, to try to acquire the newspaper at auction. But they did not succeed. In spite of this, La Marea was born. The essential pillar of the newspaper is freedom from political and business interests, as it has an independent financial base formed by thousands of members and readers, with the aim of carrying out the most independent and free journalism possible.
La Marea aims not to depend on political parties or large multinationals or bankers to survive. Therefore, they need the support of their supporters and readers. La Marea launched a crowdfunding campaign with the slogan "Lo nuestro es de verdad" to end 2022 in "positive numbers and with enough liquidity to be able to publish good information and promote new research". With various funding schemes suggested to readers, they managed to raise a figure of €285,000.
For the members of La Marea, performing a public service is essential for the proper functioning of society. To this end, transparency is a characteristic they must project to the outside world. Every year, they publish their accounts to show readers where the income comes from and where the expenses are spent. In 2021, for the first time since the cooperative was created, income exceeded 400,000 euros, in a financial year in which there was a surplus of 15,525 euros.
Initially, La Marea was born as a monthly magazine concept, in addition to the digital media itself. For a modest price of 3 euros, every month the reader could read this media in a physical format. The physical points of sale of the magazine were located in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Today, digitalization has forced La Marea to transform its business model. The magazine can still be purchased physically, but with the difference that it has become a bimonthly publication. Also, the only way to receive the physical magazine is to subscribe through its website.
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