The rise of La Marea as an established online and physical newspaper has not been an easy road.
It is no hidden secret that the world of journalism is a beautiful but brutal world. A volatile, uncertain one at that. Now, if you add "online" to the equation, you have an even more uncertain and volatile realm. La Marea, as with many newspapers, has had to suffer the consequences of this uncertainty and instability during the process of its economic establishment. Especially, too, it is important to note La Marea's devotion to ethical, transparent Journalism and with that Journalistic creation. Since the beginning of La Marea, they have published detailed accounts of their funding and spending for each individual year, applying a transparent approach to the relationship with their readers and the general public, opting to prove unbiased funding and therefore reporting.
Being founded at the end of 2012, La Marea's first accounts publishment was made after 2013 year. At this point, the newspaper recognized that as with a lot of other newspapers in Spain, they were losing money. To be exact in 2013, La Marea lost around 98 thousand euros. It is certainly a big loss, however, the newspaper recognized that in order to stay loyal to their ethical bases, this was to be expected. La Marea often rejected funding from businesses that opposed their moral views. An example is banks that practiced "desokupamientos". This term, common in Spanish society refers to the eviction of people who reside in a house without having the legal rights to do so. With this in mind, La Marea predicted that by the end of 2014, they would break even.
Although La Marea did not meet its 2014 expectations, its yearly losses were reduced to around 16 thousand euros. The newspaper claims that this economic improvement was largely made due to the unselfishness of the newspaper's partners and the reduction in production costs. At this point, the newspaper recognized that its biggest economic powerhouse was online subscriptions. Although physical sales improved in 2014, online subscriptions led to La Marea's benefits that year. As subscriptions steadily rose in 2014, whilst physical sales were a volatile market of its own, La Marea's efforts began to be more focused on the online aspect of the newspaper.
In 2015, La Marea suffered some noticeable losses, however, the newspaper was devoted to providing transparent journalism to its loyal readers. According to La Marea, they were able to combat economic struggles through funding stemming from financial companies like Coop 57. La Marea also decreased the selling point of their copies as they wanted to gain more subscriptions, having identified that this was the primary economic driver. 2016 was a positive year for La Marea. They finally made profits of around 16 thousand euros. The newspaper increased its sales by 12,3%, however, it still suffered losses which were aimed to be balanced by gaining more subscriptions. Subscriptions increased in 2016 and kiosk sales decreased. La Marea were looking to invest more in their marketing, in order for subscriptions and sales to increase. The newspaper, however, remained loyal to its ethical codes, minimizing its revenue from funding as it still only accepted ethical and moral businesses.
Once again La Marea found itself in trouble in 2017. The newspaper experienced losses of around 40 thousand euros. However, the newspaper remained solid in its moral and ethical beliefs. La Marea released a statement regarding its losses: "Despite not being sustainable yet, La Marea remains intact in its journalistic independence and informative agenda". Their advertisements increased in 2017, however, they still fit La Marea's editorial and ideological line. La Marea was still hopeful as they had created a close-knit community of loyal readers who were attracted to La Marea for its values, including its highly transparent and responsible reporting.
2018 marked a steady year for La Marea. They made a benefit of only 672 euros, however, in the eyes of the newspaper this was a win as they weren't at a loss of money. Throughout the entire of 2018, La Marea had several campaigns that were highly successful amongst its readers like #PorTodas, a campaign fighting against sexual violence. This was typical of La Marea's editorial line. 2019, on the other hand, was a disaster for La Marea. They finished the year with losses of around 60 thousand euros, one of the highest ever. The newspaper recognizes that the mistake once again was their focus on the production of content but not its effective dissemination. A lot of people also unsubscribed due to the general economic situation in Spain, as they could simply not afford the burden of the costs of the subscription. La Marea, however, wasn't ready to throw the towel, which brings us to 2020, a positive year for the newspaper.
2020 was one of the most positive years for La Marea, making benefits of around 13 thousand euros. Over 50% of the benefits stemmed from subscriptions and sales of physical copies. La Marea continuously searched for economic backing which helped them continue their production and dissemination process. They also received economic backing from environmental groups like Fundación Biodiversidad. All of this, of course, was possible due to La Marea's strict editorial line which was in tune with environmental groups of the sorts. 2021 was a similar year to 2020 for La Marea. They made profits of around 15 thousand euros. Once again, La Marea continued to maintain good relations with its investors and a transparent approach with its readers, allowing the newspaper to generate more benefits than ever and continue to strive towards balanced and sustainable journalism.
La Marea's complex come-up is notable. Since 2021 the newspaper continue to stick to its roots and produces content in line with its beliefs. In doing so since the beginning of La Marea, the newspaper has been able to create a close community of readers and financial investors that believe in the newspaper and are willing to back it financially. Their online focus has also helped them as, in general, physical copies have declined in sales over the last decade.
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