WEBVTT 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:04.860 You're listening to a stage talk titled Inside 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:07.080 the Membership Model. This week, we were joined 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:09.480 by my colleagues, Bellingcat's Sarah Bishop -Woods 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.619 and Mareike Vitt. They came in to discuss Bellingcat's 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:15.039 new membership model. We spoke about the funding 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.179 model itself, how you can get involved with Bellingcat's 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:20.480 membership, and what fueled the decision to move 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:23.320 to this funding model in the first place. Packed 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.160 full with not -for -profit business advice, this 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.480 talk is useful for anyone interested in learning 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.719 more about how our news is funded. You can find 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:33.960 links to all of the resources mentioned in the 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.439 talk in the podcast description. This talk was 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:39.060 hosted by me, Charlotte Maher, on Thursday the 00:00:39.060 --> 00:00:42.520 30th of July, 2026, in the Bellingcat Discord 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:50.979 server. Hello and welcome to another stage talk 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:53.960 in the Bellingcat Discord server. Today we're 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.240 exploring one of the most influential business 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:00.399 models in modern journalism, membership. As advertising 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:02.880 revenues have declined and audiences increasingly 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.099 expect digital news for free, many news organisations 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:08.640 have turned to their readers, not just as customers 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:11.540 but as supporters and participants. But what 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:14.560 exactly is a membership model and can it sustainably 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.859 fund quality journalism? My wonderful colleagues 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:20.760 Sarah Bishop -Woods and Mareike Vitt are here 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:23.319 to answer those questions. They are both part 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:25.260 of Bellingcat's development team and have been 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.519 overseeing our transition into a membership model 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:30.359 funding structure. In this talk, they'll unpack 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:33.099 this newly adopted model of funding, explaining 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:35.620 what it means and how it affects Bellingcat going 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:38.819 forwards. As usual, we will have plenty of time 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:41.420 to answer your questions and you can place your 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:43.500 questions in the chat accessible on the right 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:46.379 -hand corner of your screen. But please remember 00:01:46.379 --> 00:01:48.920 that this is being audio recorded for the podcast. 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:51.000 So if you don't want me to mention your username, 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:54.180 please add that as a note in your question. Okay, 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:56.439 Mareike and Sarah, over to you. I'm going to mute 00:01:56.439 --> 00:02:02.340 for a second. Hi, Charlie. Thanks for the nice 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:05.719 introduction and welcome everyone. Great to be 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.400 back. I think, yeah, I've been here a year ago 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.099 almost to talk about fundraising in general with 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:13.800 you. And as Charlie has mentioned, we'd like 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:17.479 to dive a bit more with you into one specific 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:20.539 area, which is called membership. Many others 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:23.699 maybe know it as a normal small donor program. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:26.960 Like almost anyone can do like a couple of bucks 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:30.000 to support the cause that you like. So that's 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.620 a little bit what this means and much more. And 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:37.460 we'd like to dive with you into this today. Yes, 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:39.819 why is Bellingcat going into that direction? 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:42.620 We've been working towards this for quite a while. 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:46.650 And as you know, the current fundraising landscape, 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:49.330 especially for journalism, is very difficult. 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:54.949 But I think many of you also know that with USAID 00:02:54.949 --> 00:02:57.990 stopping one and a half years ago, the repercussion 00:02:57.990 --> 00:03:02.530 in the entire NGO landscape was quite extensive. 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:05.050 And this, of course, also affected journalism 00:03:05.050 --> 00:03:10.099 funding. In general, we've also seen trends of 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:12.680 institutional funding going down, especially 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:16.879 for journalism grants. But because people were 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:25.460 moving more and more towards democracy, resilience 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:27.919 funding, and journalism funding is one of them. 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:30.919 So there's quite a lot of changes in the market 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:33.840 of institutional funding, which for quite a while 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.439 has been a major milestone for Bellingcat. But 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.039 looking at our wonderful community and the work 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.599 that Bellingcat does, it has been obvious for 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.319 many years that we should actually be community 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:51.520 funded. So people having a heart for our work, 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:55.360 being practitioners themselves, and using the 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.389 tools and the skills we're teaching. can also 00:03:58.389 --> 00:04:02.370 support us themselves and also guide our direction 00:04:02.370 --> 00:04:04.810 with their support. So that's really the reason 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:09.330 behind it. So what you can, if you, if people 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:11.789 have been knowing Bellegate for a while, you 00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:15.270 see, you saw that we've transitioned from a grassroots 00:04:15.270 --> 00:04:18.250 movement, which was around 2018, I would say, 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:21.870 where you can get grants for small organizations 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.850 to be built up over to grants that have been 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.579 that have been given to us to professionalize 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:31.980 because we're now an organization of almost 40 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:35.399 people. So of course, this is a size that has 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:38.819 been sustained by governance, by processes, by 00:04:38.819 --> 00:04:40.519 structures, different than a graph would be. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.639 So that's a little bit how we've transitioned 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:45.199 and it's now has been the time for a long time, 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.120 but it's now really the time that we want to 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.720 be community funded by people like you, but many 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:52.959 people worldwide who think it's worthwhile to 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:56.689 support our cause. And yeah, I think I've announced 00:04:56.689 --> 00:04:58.930 it last year that we're going into the direction 00:04:58.930 --> 00:05:03.670 and Sarah has joined us. I do think that Marika 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:06.189 is experiencing a small technical difficulty, 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:10.250 but it's also a good time to accept the baton 00:05:10.250 --> 00:05:13.050 that she's passing. So I'm going to jump in and 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:16.230 introduce myself. Hello, everyone. My name is 00:05:16.230 --> 00:05:18.449 Sarah Bishop -Woods and my role at Bellingcat 00:05:18.449 --> 00:05:20.589 is as Director of Development and Partnerships 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:23.269 for the United States. Before joining Bellingcat, 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:26.170 I've spent the bulk of my career in media. Most 00:05:26.170 --> 00:05:28.290 recently as the Chief Strategy Officer for a 00:05:28.290 --> 00:05:30.110 newsroom consultancy, where I worked with more 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:32.569 than 60 organizations to help them build sustainable 00:05:32.569 --> 00:05:36.149 businesses around mission -driven work and simultaneously 00:05:36.149 --> 00:05:38.350 oversaw the firm's own business and operations. 00:05:38.829 --> 00:05:41.930 But what drew me to Bellingcat is likely similar 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:45.009 to what brought you here as well. It's an organization 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:49.579 unlike any other. And to appreciate what is unique 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:52.360 about Bellingcat is also to appreciate what is 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:55.579 unique about a membership program. So I'm going 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:59.300 to go a little bit into the trajectory of the 00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:04.639 news and information industry and the business 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:07.100 models that we've seen over the last few decades, 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:09.540 and then we'll explore more in depth what it 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:13.610 means to have a membership program. To understand 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:15.370 why we launched a formal membership program, 00:06:15.490 --> 00:06:17.389 we first have to look at the broader landscape 00:06:17.389 --> 00:06:21.170 of news and information. Across the entire industry, 00:06:21.410 --> 00:06:23.790 the core question everyone is trying to answer 00:06:23.790 --> 00:06:26.810 is, how are we going to sustain public service 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:28.870 journalism, given everything that's happening 00:06:28.870 --> 00:06:31.509 around the world? For decades, ad revenue funded 00:06:31.509 --> 00:06:34.170 public interest reporting. But that model has 00:06:34.170 --> 00:06:36.939 fundamentally broken down. The news industry 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:40.600 has suffered over $33 billion in ad revenue losses 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.540 over the last 30 years. Raking in programmatic 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:47.019 ad revenue is not really viable in 2026, nor 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:49.379 does it align with independent research models. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.959 Some institutions like the BBC rely on public 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.600 funding or government -backed license fees, but 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.279 state subsidies inherently carry risks for political 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.439 pressure, policy shifts, or legislative interference. 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:04.680 Outlets like Politico support their free journalism 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:07.100 by selling high -priced, specialized business 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:10.660 -to -business services like Politico Pro to corporate 00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:14.060 and institutional buyers. While effective for 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.620 policy reporting, it requires a specific commercial 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:20.899 market. And it is an entire business to run alongside 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:24.160 a newsroom. The default pivot for most newsrooms 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.980 has been consumer subscriptions. And yet, subscriptions 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:31.579 almost always require paywalls. Put simply, paywalls 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:34.680 hide crucial verified facts behind a price tag 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:37.399 right when the public needs free access to the 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:40.959 truth. That leaves us with membership. Membership 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.180 isn't a transactional product. It's a relationship. 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:49.019 It allows us to keep our work 100 % free, uncompromised, 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:52.519 and unpaywalled for everyone while empowering 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:54.860 the community that relies on our findings to 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:57.790 directly fund and sustain the mission. As we 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:00.149 pivot to membership, it's essential to understand 00:08:00.149 --> 00:08:02.629 that membership is not just a financial transaction, 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:06.009 but really I do mean it is a relationship. Membership 00:08:06.009 --> 00:08:08.550 is a social contract between a news organization 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:10.970 and its members. In this relationship, members 00:08:10.970 --> 00:08:14.490 are giving more than just their money. They are 00:08:14.490 --> 00:08:17.350 actively contributing their time, energy, expertise, 00:08:17.470 --> 00:08:19.410 and personal connections to a cause they believe 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:22.269 in. That likely resonates with a lot of the people 00:08:22.269 --> 00:08:24.879 that are listening to this talk. This is core 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.339 to how Bellingcat has always operated. Both organizations 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:30.800 need to build habits to reach out to their community 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:32.879 and audience when they build a membership program. 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:35.500 At Bellingcat, this relationship is essential 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:38.220 to an open source methodology. And our work is 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:40.980 already open to a strong dynamic between the 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:44.559 wider community and the Bellingcat staff. This 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:46.899 relationship creates constant improvement for 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:49.450 Bellingcat as a collective. allowing us to learn 00:08:49.450 --> 00:08:51.830 from each other and build support. Bellingcat 00:08:51.830 --> 00:08:55.570 is just such a unique organization. This year, 00:08:55.570 --> 00:08:58.509 in June, we launched our membership program. 00:08:59.490 --> 00:09:01.889 Bellingcat has never had advertising or paywall. 00:09:01.970 --> 00:09:04.389 Our work is free and uncompromised and always 00:09:04.389 --> 00:09:08.190 will be. We began receiving small dollar donations 00:09:08.190 --> 00:09:10.970 a few years ago and have had the gratifying experience 00:09:10.970 --> 00:09:13.970 of thousands of individuals giving at least once 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.559 to the organization. However, there was room 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:18.860 for improvement and to build a program that becomes 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:21.559 a steady source of operating support while also 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.399 giving back to those donors. We've seen this 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.740 work in other nonprofit organizations and they 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:29.460 share one common principle. They treat membership 00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:32.620 as a sustained editorial and operational commitment, 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.379 not just a donate button. That's the standard 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.820 that we've built toward. To launch this program, 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:40.820 we've undergone many behind -the -scenes developments, 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.850 which I'll walk you through now. So when I say 00:09:43.850 --> 00:09:46.429 that Bellingcat is an organization unlike any 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:50.929 other, it's not just because I am effusive in 00:09:50.929 --> 00:09:53.669 my passion for my place of work, but because 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:56.350 of the focus I'm providing for a community of 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:59.029 more than 40 ,000, a commitment to training the 00:09:59.029 --> 00:10:01.690 wider news and information sector, tools and 00:10:01.690 --> 00:10:04.330 methodologies built and freely shared and tested, 00:10:04.750 --> 00:10:07.009 and partnerships that act as a capacity builder 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:10.269 and a force multiplier. We began this membership 00:10:10.269 --> 00:10:13.340 program by listening. through a community survey 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:16.240 because a membership program is, again, a relationship, 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:18.940 not a transaction. Perhaps, if you're listening 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.139 to this now, you took our survey, and if so, 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:24.299 thank you. I ran across 10 platforms for two 00:10:24.299 --> 00:10:26.879 weeks and garnered more than 3 ,000 responses. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.879 From there, we took the data and unique insights 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.019 to our management team, where we further developed 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:35.659 a brand story and value proposition based on 00:10:35.659 --> 00:10:38.379 the feedback from those surveys. Today, I'm going 00:10:38.379 --> 00:10:40.279 to take you behind the scenes of what we learned 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.500 and how we built this new line of business. So, 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:45.919 before we go any further, I'd like to put the 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.100 survey respondents into context. I like to call 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:51.559 these groups the hand raisers, people with the 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:53.919 willingness and time to answer a survey. They 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:56.899 tend to be a bit older, maybe a little more financially 00:10:56.899 --> 00:10:59.960 stable, and are generally more highly educated. 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:02.440 So while these figures don't represent all of 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.720 Bellingcat's audience, it is still meaningful 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.139 that more than 3 ,000 people took the time to 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:10.820 share their insights. 84 % of the respondents 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:13.500 have been following Bellingcat for a year or 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:17.080 more. Longevity of following is one of the strongest 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:19.700 predictors of conversion to paid support because 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:22.100 it means that somebody genuinely cares and appreciates 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:25.120 the work coming out of an organization. The respondents 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.799 also shared a high propensity and activity for 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:31.990 giving. before we've made any formal solicitations. 00:11:32.549 --> 00:11:36.730 45 % said they would donate or already do. 22 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:40.950 % were existing donors. And 23 % said they would 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.649 give if they were asked properly, you know, really 00:11:43.649 --> 00:11:48.049 a please and a thank you. Finally, we calculated 00:11:48.049 --> 00:11:52.529 a net promoter score, which was 75. For context, 00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.450 the global average of net promoter scores in 00:11:55.450 --> 00:11:59.700 2025 was 32. according to SurveyMonkey, and anything 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:03.080 above 70 is considered exceptional. The score 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:05.799 represents people's willingness to promote our 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:09.100 organization to others in conversation. And Bell 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:11.200 and Cat's audience doesn't just consume the work, 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.080 they advocate for it. Again, a net promoter score 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:19.179 of 75, just really phenomenal. We also asked 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:22.480 people to self -report where they were taking 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.710 the survey from. And our top four demographics 00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:29.710 were the United States, the UK, the Netherlands, 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.850 and Canada, which maps relationally on to where 00:12:32.850 --> 00:12:37.029 we see a lot of our traffic come from. But the 00:12:37.029 --> 00:12:39.110 highlight here was that we did have respondents 00:12:39.110 --> 00:12:42.409 self -report from more than 90 different countries, 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.309 truly a global reach and highlighting where we 00:12:45.309 --> 00:12:48.269 have an opportunity to continue engaging with 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:51.580 audiences all over the world. I'm going to return 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:55.419 to the stat that I mentioned that 84 % of the 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:57.500 respondents have followed Bellingcat for a year 00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:00.480 or more. It's incredibly easy to move from one 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.860 source of media to another and never develop 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:06.000 a habit of purposely engaging. That's why brand 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:08.700 loyalty is an incredible bellwether for membership 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.840 programs and this level of 84 % is rare in digital 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:15.700 media. Most news organizations are fighting churn 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:18.259 constantly. Readers find them through a single 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:20.940 story and then they leave. Bellingcat's audience 00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:23.879 stays, but I'm actually less focused on the user 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:26.440 habit here because habit alone doesn't explain 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:30.059 why this is worth celebrating. Habits form around 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:33.139 things that are usually easy and frictionless. 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:37.440 Following Bellingcat is not those things. The 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.360 work is challenging, the topics are serious, 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.799 and the methodology requires real attention. 00:13:44.649 --> 00:13:47.529 People are staying because Bellingcat consistently 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:49.970 provides something worth creating a long -term 00:13:49.970 --> 00:13:55.009 relationship for, not just ease of use. And we 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:58.710 also asked in our survey if respondents would 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:01.509 be disappointed if Bellingcat ceased to exist. 00:14:02.690 --> 00:14:07.070 98 % said that they would be disappointed if 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:09.690 Bellingcat ceased to exist tomorrow, with the 00:14:09.690 --> 00:14:12.450 majority sharing in their write -in option that 00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:16.090 Bellingcat is irreplaceable. So we also asked 00:14:16.090 --> 00:14:19.230 these survey takers why they would be disappointed. 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:22.450 We had an incredible write -in rate, which I 00:14:22.450 --> 00:14:25.870 sorted into general themes of responses. These 00:14:25.870 --> 00:14:29.210 themes were the depth of work, showing the work, 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:33.169 truth, independence from power, covering stories 00:14:33.169 --> 00:14:37.090 others ignore, and trust. I'm going to read you 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:40.809 some of the write -in responses that really stuck 00:14:40.809 --> 00:14:45.409 with me. This one tickles me. Bellingcat is an 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:48.470 unimpeachable source of solid evidence -based 00:14:48.470 --> 00:14:50.789 investigations into often overlooked crimes. 00:14:51.370 --> 00:14:54.269 Its disinterested approach annoys me as someone 00:14:54.269 --> 00:14:57.750 with distinct political views. That's partly 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:01.590 what makes it essential and irreplaceable. Another 00:15:01.590 --> 00:15:04.570 goes, the level of depth in each investigation, 00:15:04.590 --> 00:15:06.769 which is unique compared to other news outlets 00:15:06.769 --> 00:15:09.570 because it has a reproducible discovery method 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:12.490 and goes into a level of detail very rarely covered 00:15:12.490 --> 00:15:14.919 in mass media. and which is increasingly tailored 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:17.559 for lower expectations and integrity levels. 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:20.899 The others were scientific methodology applied 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:23.840 to journalism. Another write -in was journalism 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:28.320 for the powerless. And finally, veracity. Bellingcat 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:30.860 should be industry standard, publicly funded, 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:34.059 and globally protected. When we asked the survey 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:36.879 respondents what they wanted to ask of our investigators, 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.860 their responses were, I found, to be incredibly 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:44.080 touching. Again, I sorted the data set to find 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.879 the patterns and overwhelmingly the themes demonstrated 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.120 compassion and concern and an eagerness to participate. 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:53.200 How do we, Bellingcat, protect ourselves when 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.500 the people we investigate are dangerous? How 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:57.639 do we stay motivated when the scale of what we're 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:00.259 documenting feels overwhelming? How do we keep 00:16:00.259 --> 00:16:03.220 going in a world where the facts exist and accountability 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:07.480 is such a long road? And then this one, how can 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.330 we as an audience help with your mission? I often 00:16:10.330 --> 00:16:12.690 feel helpless about the state of misinformation 00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:15.610 online. That question demonstrates something 00:16:15.610 --> 00:16:17.789 that is special about the Bellingcat community. 00:16:18.309 --> 00:16:20.370 People aren't just reading. They're worried about 00:16:20.370 --> 00:16:22.129 the world and they're looking for a way to do 00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:24.690 something about it. The feeling of helplessness 00:16:24.690 --> 00:16:27.090 in the face of conflict and disinformation is 00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:30.289 a defining feeling in 2026. And our audience 00:16:30.289 --> 00:16:32.669 is telling us they see Bellingcat as an outlet 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:35.409 for resolving this. They are willing to build 00:16:35.409 --> 00:16:39.200 a movement of truth with Bellingcat. Once the 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.539 surveys closed, the management team worked through 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:44.500 a structured value proposition, defining who 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:46.639 our audience really is, what promise we make 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:49.159 to them, what actions back that promise up, and 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:51.480 what we would consider an achievement we're celebrating 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.279 in the future. This kind of process can feel 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:56.340 quite intensive, but I'm fortunate that they've 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:58.179 been very patient with these methods and with 00:16:58.179 --> 00:17:00.879 me and what was developed as a testament to their 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:04.200 commitment. This also led to the foundation of 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:06.180 membership messaging that is resonant both with 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:08.920 Bellingcat's loyal audiences and our teams that 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:13.500 lead that work. So, drum roll, this is what the 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:17.000 process produced. Bellingcat is a global collective 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:19.660 uncovering facts to hold power to account. We 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:21.900 share everything, including our methods, because 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:26.279 the truth belongs to everyone. Both investigative 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.920 organizations protect their methods as a competitive 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.759 advantage. but we publish them, we teach them, 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:34.180 we build tools around them. It's a philosophical 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:36.720 commitment to the idea that the capacity to find 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.519 the truth shouldn't sit with a small group of 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:41.819 specialists. It should be distributed as widely 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:44.480 as possible. That's what our community told us. 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:47.180 They recognize and value above almost everything 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:49.740 else, which is underscored by the strategy and 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.640 operations of the entire management team. And 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:54.799 we also have this line, which was particularly 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:58.460 salient. democracy depends on people who won't 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:02.900 take the truth at face value. We are in a period 00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:05.420 of autocratic upheaval where the manipulation 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:08.059 of reality has become a primary instrument of 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:11.660 power. In that context, Bellingcat builds a community 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:14.960 to further engage the democratic revival, which 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:17.660 serves as the governance of democratic resilience. 00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:20.839 Bellingcat has always been built by many hands 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:24.829 and this program is no different. If any of what 00:18:24.829 --> 00:18:27.390 you've heard today resonates with you, and I 00:18:27.390 --> 00:18:30.369 do hope that it has. Here's how you can be a 00:18:30.369 --> 00:18:33.269 part of the membership program. Please consider 00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:35.630 forwarding our emails along or sharing about 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.470 the program with your networks. Give us your 00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:40.750 feedback and wisdom. We always appreciate it. 00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:43.009 Or make an introduction that might benefit our 00:18:43.009 --> 00:18:46.349 organization. We love to make friends. We do 00:18:46.349 --> 00:18:49.190 have some additional activities that are listed 00:18:49.190 --> 00:18:52.210 in a slide that perhaps we can put in the show 00:18:52.210 --> 00:18:55.819 notes, but that would be We have these peer -to 00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:59.799 -peer fundraising activities as well. And we 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:02.940 encourage anyone to email us at donations at 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:05.980 bellincat .com with their advice. We do read 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:11.180 through it all. And thank you very much. If we 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:14.740 have any questions, we're happy to answer. Amazing. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:20.160 Thank you so much for going through that. I'm 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:24.619 always surprised by Bellingcat in terms of how 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:29.099 much we are comfortable and happy to share with 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:31.640 our audience as well. I think it's quite unique 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:36.039 actually to have a newsroom sit down and have 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:38.279 a talk like this, where you're actually kind 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:42.819 of revealing the feedback from audience surveys 00:19:42.819 --> 00:19:46.740 and giving kind of an insight into The business 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:49.599 model that lies behind our work, I think it's 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.140 really refreshing and really helpful as well 00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:54.019 for people who might be listening and thinking 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:56.319 about starting up their own newsroom, for example, 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:58.900 which I know a few of you who may have attended 00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:01.700 Marika's last talk were thinking about. Please 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:03.680 keep your questions coming in the chat on the 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:05.319 right -hand side. I was wondering if maybe some 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:07.819 of those links that you showed in the last slide, 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:10.359 if one of you wouldn't mind putting them in the 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.980 chat as well, because that's usually where we 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:16.650 add them. Um, while that's being done, I wanted 00:20:16.650 --> 00:20:19.509 to start off by asking a little bit more about 00:20:19.509 --> 00:20:22.210 the membership model as a, as a general model, 00:20:22.470 --> 00:20:24.349 funding model. And then perhaps later on, we 00:20:24.349 --> 00:20:27.390 can move into what that means for Bellingcat 00:20:27.390 --> 00:20:30.569 a little bit more. But what, what distinguishes 00:20:30.569 --> 00:20:33.410 a membership model specifically from a subscription 00:20:33.410 --> 00:20:36.150 model? Because that's often a confusion point. 00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:38.690 I know you touched on it within the talk, but 00:20:38.690 --> 00:20:40.809 perhaps we can dig that into that a little bit 00:20:40.809 --> 00:20:45.509 more. And does this model suit? every news organisational 00:20:45.509 --> 00:20:48.849 structure or is it sometimes more suited to more 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:52.849 niche publications where you perhaps have a more 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:57.329 dedicated but smaller audience? Yeah, so those 00:20:57.329 --> 00:21:00.589 are great questions by the way. The first digging 00:21:00.589 --> 00:21:02.990 into what's the difference between membership 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.430 and subscription. Typically a subscription model 00:21:06.430 --> 00:21:11.450 means that something is being paywalled. They 00:21:11.450 --> 00:21:14.450 can appear very similar because you are still 00:21:14.450 --> 00:21:18.490 seeing requests for payment. But the major difference 00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:21.670 is in a membership model, you can always access 00:21:21.670 --> 00:21:26.049 the product, the information, the research, whatever 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.170 that organization is putting out, regardless 00:21:29.170 --> 00:21:33.410 of if you give or not. I've heard people refer 00:21:33.410 --> 00:21:38.170 to a membership program really as a tip jar, 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:41.549 but I think that's missing the vital point of 00:21:41.549 --> 00:21:44.130 membership. When you give to an organization 00:21:44.130 --> 00:21:49.029 through a subscription, their motivation is just 00:21:49.029 --> 00:21:51.470 to ensure that you don't drop your subscription. 00:21:52.089 --> 00:21:54.750 So they need to provide just enough value to 00:21:54.750 --> 00:21:59.230 you that you will continue. However, if you are 00:21:59.230 --> 00:22:02.269 in a membership with that relationship with an 00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:05.990 organization, you are really considered to be 00:22:05.990 --> 00:22:09.109 someone that is a part of holding up the sustainability 00:22:09.109 --> 00:22:12.829 of that organization and you are invited in in 00:22:12.829 --> 00:22:16.359 a much more relational way. So a subscription 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.519 is transactional and you have to go through a 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.640 subscription to access something. Whereas a membership, 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:26.880 there is a request for support, but you are always 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:30.220 allowed to access information regardless of whether 00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:33.400 or not you're providing support back. And if 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.980 you do, you are further brought a step deeper 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:40.119 into having a relationship with that organization. 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:42.640 Your second question, I don't remember it, so 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.200 please refresh me. I asked whether the membership 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.960 model was suited to all forms of news organizations 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.460 or whether it's more suited to smaller, more 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:55.380 niche publications, which might have a smaller 00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:58.200 but more dedicated audience. Do you think this 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:00.859 model, for example, would work for large scale 00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:04.819 broadcasters as well as smaller, perhaps more 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:07.420 independent publications? That's a really great 00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:09.500 question. And it's something that people debate 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:13.059 about quite a bit. I would say that where we've 00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:16.279 seen membership picked up most is with mission 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:19.480 -driven organizations where you inherently are 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.539 not scaling your audience to an infinite amount. 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.779 There is a finite amount of people that will 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:36.750 be willing to engage. satisfying the needs of 00:23:36.750 --> 00:23:39.670 your audience with your work then they will have 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:43.789 a propensity to give. Can membership replace 00:23:43.789 --> 00:23:47.730 subscriptions? There are some very successful 00:23:47.730 --> 00:23:52.809 subscription businesses and they include different 00:23:52.809 --> 00:23:56.930 types of user needs in what they're providing 00:23:56.930 --> 00:23:59.450 that's not purely mission driven and so I think 00:23:59.450 --> 00:24:02.529 that actually Membership is great when you are, 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:05.410 you don't need to be a nonprofit, but when you're 00:24:05.410 --> 00:24:09.150 sort of driven by having this core value that 00:24:09.150 --> 00:24:11.529 you're pursuing. And a subscription is great 00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:15.230 for other types of audience needs, you know, 00:24:15.430 --> 00:24:19.579 entertainment especially. Nick in the chat has 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:21.680 asked a question that I was about to follow up 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.940 with, so I'll ask that now. He's asked, very 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:25.759 interesting to see the process of how you think 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:27.539 about and approach fundraising. I'm interested 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:29.680 in your thoughts about platforms like Substack 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:32.920 or perhaps Patreon, which we've had for a while, 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.200 that make the membership model accessible to 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.240 newsrooms as small as one person. So what are 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:40.640 your thoughts on platforms like that? And why, 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:43.299 for example, did Velinecap decide to kind of 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:45.880 put our membership model on our website instead 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:49.660 of... just using a model like Substack or Patreon? 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:53.039 Yeah, I think that there are a lot of tools available, 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:56.759 especially for this one -person newsroom, or 00:24:56.759 --> 00:25:00.440 might be referred to as a creator, news creator, 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:04.099 that make a lot of sense for that business case. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:06.039 And especially if you're one person, you need 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:09.220 something that is very straightforward. You don't 00:25:09.220 --> 00:25:12.480 need a technical stack of different platforms 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:16.650 that you would then have to manage. Personally, 00:25:16.910 --> 00:25:20.809 I think I've seen a lot of growth through Beehive 00:25:20.809 --> 00:25:22.670 in the creator space and I think that that's 00:25:22.670 --> 00:25:27.369 a very encouraging up -and -comer within the 00:25:27.369 --> 00:25:29.809 platform world. A lot of people also really gravitate 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:34.269 towards Ghost or other open source WordPress 00:25:34.269 --> 00:25:37.630 products and then integrate with a newsletter. 00:25:38.450 --> 00:25:41.470 I think that those are phenomenal and you can 00:25:41.470 --> 00:25:45.240 find a lot of off -the -shelf products. At a 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.460 certain point in an organization's maturation, 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:51.920 especially if you're not just one person by yourself, 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:57.200 which is such a grind, you do want to have what's 00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:00.099 called a CRM, a customer relationship management 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:04.359 tool. These are tools like Salesforce and many 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:09.450 others. And this tool helps you keep one database 00:26:09.450 --> 00:26:12.950 very clean, and it's really important to keep 00:26:12.950 --> 00:26:16.490 your database clean so that you are not continuing 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:21.150 to solicit people when they have moved on or 00:26:21.150 --> 00:26:24.569 you need to update their email or you want to 00:26:24.569 --> 00:26:29.849 measure different analytics from the giving history. 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:33.289 There are lots of tools that build in very light 00:26:33.289 --> 00:26:38.109 CRMs, but ultimately organizations still preface 00:26:38.109 --> 00:26:46.130 to a more high -powered option in the end. We'll 00:26:46.130 --> 00:26:49.309 see if that changes. Technology is constantly 00:26:49.309 --> 00:26:52.269 improving. The last two years have been absolutely 00:26:52.269 --> 00:26:55.509 insane in the improvements that are off the shelf 00:26:55.509 --> 00:27:00.289 for creators. But Bellingcat is at that stage 00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:05.740 in its maturation where we can make decisions 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:08.059 that are better informed for our audience by 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:12.119 reading the signals that we can receive. We don't 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:18.480 track cookies on our website. So we have very 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:25.259 limited pools of information to make things more 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:27.839 straightforward and streamlined for our audience. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.259 It also helps us make better business decisions 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:35.480 by being able to measure trends and giving patterns 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:38.740 so that we're not also asking people when they 00:27:38.740 --> 00:27:42.839 don't want to be asked. That said, you know, 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.460 if you are one person and you want to begin a 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:50.279 membership program, the tools that I've seen 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:52.420 a lot of people really gravitate to recently 00:27:52.420 --> 00:27:56.460 are BeHive, which we're also using as an email 00:27:56.460 --> 00:28:00.130 service provider now. But I've seen it in the 00:28:00.130 --> 00:28:03.849 wild before my time at Bellingcat and Ghost. 00:28:04.549 --> 00:28:12.410 And I think the impetus with Patreon and Substack 00:28:12.410 --> 00:28:15.329 and Kickstarter to help people crowdfund their 00:28:15.329 --> 00:28:18.230 work was a very clear signal that we had, you 00:28:18.230 --> 00:28:21.490 know, starting 20 years ago really in the digital 00:28:21.490 --> 00:28:25.849 space. YouTube has had membership programs on 00:28:25.849 --> 00:28:29.690 and off as well, and it's just a sign of a sign 00:28:29.690 --> 00:28:32.630 of the times that to ensure that work is going 00:28:32.630 --> 00:28:35.849 to be around, people are requesting in some way 00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:38.269 their audience supports it. I just wanted to 00:28:38.269 --> 00:28:42.829 flag that Marika has put in the chat those links 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:48.029 that we talked about in the speech earlier. Marika, 00:28:48.049 --> 00:28:50.609 I don't know if you want to address it in voice, 00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:53.329 but we've had a few people in the chat asking 00:28:53.329 --> 00:28:57.390 about membership rewards and possible merchandise. 00:28:57.710 --> 00:29:00.200 I don't know if you want to address that verbally 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:05.660 as well. Yeah. Hi, Charlie. Thanks. I hope you 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:10.039 can hear me. Yes, I've been busy answering the 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:14.319 questions in the chat. So yes, I mean, the perks, 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:18.700 since we've only launched a couple of weeks ago, 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:20.680 we're of course building up the perks in the 00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:23.259 future. Merchandise is one of them that we are 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:28.160 looking into. To say it's quite a workload to 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:30.140 build this up and to build this up in a good 00:29:30.140 --> 00:29:33.319 way because of design and licensing, et cetera. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:35.319 And we want to, of course, offer you good products 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:38.259 that you then can receive. But yes, it's in the 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:41.079 pipeline and coming up. Another one is, of course, 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:43.660 offering you other ways of engaging with us. 00:29:43.859 --> 00:29:46.380 For example, other digital events such as the 00:29:46.380 --> 00:29:49.200 stage talk, but maybe different ways of meeting 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.480 people from Bellingcat. in the future hearing 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:56.480 about our work. So yes, there's more to come, 00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:00.380 but stay tuned. I'll share in the chat, we do 00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:02.759 have a list of the perks on our website, in case 00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:07.779 you have questions as to the giving tiers for 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:13.759 those perks. And Marika is exactly right. We 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:17.180 want to be very thoughtful as we launch a merchandise 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:21.579 line, but I hope that we will within this year 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:24.059 have some exciting news because we want to ensure 00:30:24.059 --> 00:30:29.519 that the community can participate both in submitting 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:32.319 ideas, but then also voting on the products that 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:35.640 they would want to see. That brings me nicely. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.019 Oh, Silted Knife has just asked quickly in the 00:30:40.019 --> 00:30:42.259 chat, did I miss podcasts or are they not on 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:48.559 the list? In terms of right now, the podcast 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:54.460 benefits are tied to our Patreon, which we are 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:56.759 internally discussing merging with our membership 00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:01.559 program. In terms of any podcast creation that 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:05.019 we make right now, of course everything is otherwise 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:09.019 still free to all audiences and it's just on 00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:14.410 a delay. So we're considering how to bring that 00:31:14.410 --> 00:31:18.410 archive to the full public and then also measuring 00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:22.130 what we can sustainably do through the end of 00:31:22.130 --> 00:31:27.410 26 and into 2027. Stage talks is something, Charlie 00:31:27.410 --> 00:31:29.650 knows this, it's something that I routinely listen 00:31:29.650 --> 00:31:33.849 to. So I think that for as long as we can create 00:31:33.849 --> 00:31:36.289 something that people are genuinely enjoying, 00:31:36.589 --> 00:31:39.509 which obviously you are if you're hearing this, 00:31:40.250 --> 00:31:42.400 that we would want to pursue that. Amazing. That 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:45.539 brings me on to my next question in terms of 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:48.680 audience access. How will Bellingcat membership 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:51.059 affect audience access? Will there be exclusive 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:53.440 content for those who are members? If I'm not 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:57.519 paying, for example, will I miss out on investigations 00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:02.700 or will there be additional pressure put on researchers, 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:05.920 for example, to deliver large scale, impressive 00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:08.819 looking investigations because of the membership 00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:13.960 model? Will it have any effect on the way that 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:18.640 we do things at Bellingcat? Yeah, I think there 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:20.619 were three questions on that, so I will come 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:24.799 back to you if I miss one. The first, are there 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:27.619 opportunities for unique content in the membership 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:30.559 program? Actually, today we delivered our first 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:34.000 membership -only newsletter, which contained 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:39.200 a Q &A with our researcher and our editor behind 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:42.940 the leaked BB investigation. That said, would 00:32:42.940 --> 00:32:49.339 we ever hide an investigation or ask the researchers 00:32:49.339 --> 00:32:53.400 to do something on behalf of membership? Absolutely 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:56.660 not. The purpose is to ensure that our investigations 00:32:56.660 --> 00:33:01.299 are always accessible to the public. at Bellingcat, 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:03.680 but especially also in news organizations, but 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.160 within our entire development team, we feel very 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:08.319 strongly about having editorial independence 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:11.819 for the researchers and the editorial team and 00:33:11.819 --> 00:33:15.180 really all of the other operations across Bellingcat. 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.299 So no, there would never be a time in which the 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:22.460 membership program would create opportunities 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:24.500 for the research team to be beholden to them. 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:27.079 Yeah. Maybe Sarah, if I can add to that, because 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:29.140 there was also a question in the chat in terms 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:33.259 of earmarked donations or earmarked membership 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:35.640 so that you can support maybe other topics that 00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:39.339 you rely, that you relate more to. And this is 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:42.359 exactly the same answer. You can support our 00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:44.900 toolkit work because that's general for all of 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:47.859 the open source research we do. And it's a very 00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:51.480 solid pillar that we offer to the community. 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:55.759 But earmarking in terms of a topic or a topic 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:59.470 area. exactly bears that danger so to speak that 00:33:59.470 --> 00:34:03.289 of course there are topics that are more newsworthy 00:34:03.289 --> 00:34:07.769 or maybe covered also widely within society rather 00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:10.369 than other areas which are unreported which exactly 00:34:10.369 --> 00:34:12.769 is also part of our work that we also shed light 00:34:12.769 --> 00:34:15.889 on underreported conflicts for example or under 00:34:15.889 --> 00:34:19.550 other unreported topic areas which then if we 00:34:19.550 --> 00:34:22.510 related to membership which of course then might 00:34:22.510 --> 00:34:24.989 be underfunded compared to other areas. So this 00:34:24.989 --> 00:34:29.010 is a danger we want to prevent in opening up 00:34:29.010 --> 00:34:31.190 the membership to support our work in general 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:34.090 and stay tuned on all of the investigations. 00:34:35.010 --> 00:34:38.309 But yeah, and to also show respect to all the 00:34:38.309 --> 00:34:39.949 work that all of our resource rights are doing. 00:34:40.730 --> 00:34:42.429 Absolutely. I think the earmarked question is 00:34:42.429 --> 00:34:45.989 a really good question because you often do see 00:34:45.989 --> 00:34:49.349 campaigns for not -for -profits, for example, 00:34:49.449 --> 00:34:52.030 based on different topic areas. So it's really 00:34:52.030 --> 00:34:54.409 interesting to know that that's not something 00:34:54.409 --> 00:34:57.300 that we're kind of leaning into. In regards to 00:34:57.300 --> 00:34:58.920 questions from the audience, we had one at the 00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:01.380 very beginning, which I skipped because I wanted 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:03.119 to focus in on the membership model, but perhaps 00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:07.320 we can visit it now quickly. It was on the stat 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:11.139 about advertising losses and what a scale that 00:35:11.139 --> 00:35:13.980 is over 30 years. And they wondered how the advertising 00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:16.500 losses looked more on a year by year review. 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:19.059 Was there a particular point where advertising 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:22.380 for newsrooms or for not -for -profits became 00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:25.159 something that just wasn't the answer anymore? 00:35:25.469 --> 00:35:29.289 And what was the definition of advertisement 00:35:29.289 --> 00:35:32.670 in that kind of sake? Does it include sponsorships 00:35:32.670 --> 00:35:35.750 and merchandising or was it just subsidies? Perhaps 00:35:35.750 --> 00:35:38.750 you can give just a very quick overview of what 00:35:38.750 --> 00:35:41.309 the previous advertising model looked like for 00:35:41.309 --> 00:35:43.989 many newsrooms and why people are moving away 00:35:43.989 --> 00:35:47.199 from that a little bit. I don't want to move 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:49.400 too much into it because this talks about membership 00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:51.300 models specifically and you can listen back to 00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:53.760 Marika's last talk if you want to dive into that 00:35:53.760 --> 00:35:55.920 deeper, but I just wanted to address that question 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:59.519 that came in early on. Yeah, I think there are 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:03.719 three real moments that we can hone in on across 00:36:03.719 --> 00:36:07.300 those more than 30 years. And I'm going to apologize 00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:09.219 in advance that I'm not going to give you the 00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:11.920 exact dates because if I got it wrong, I would... 00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:15.760 Feel very bad, but I can give you approximations 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:18.500 right now And it is something that I have in 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:21.000 many research notes that I should just make available 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:26.400 But first there was a if we go back to the 1990s 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:30.119 with the the advent of you know, most people 00:36:30.119 --> 00:36:33.980 now having a Personal computer in their homes 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:38.019 and the expansion of the World Wide Web We see 00:36:38.019 --> 00:36:42.519 the first general shift in advertising At this 00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:47.320 point, most news organizations are exclusively 00:36:47.320 --> 00:36:54.719 print, radio, and broadcast. And this shift affected 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:58.539 primarily the print organizations, where we start 00:36:58.539 --> 00:37:05.539 to see money shift from print ads, classifieds, 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:09.630 paying to submit obituaries. I know these sound 00:37:09.630 --> 00:37:14.250 like really small or like some can you believe 00:37:14.250 --> 00:37:18.650 the classifieds and obituaries and also in the 00:37:18.650 --> 00:37:22.349 United States especially posting your marriage 00:37:22.349 --> 00:37:24.570 license or your name change you would have to 00:37:24.570 --> 00:37:27.389 do in print. And this was a substantial line 00:37:27.389 --> 00:37:30.070 of business. But then there's also advertising 00:37:30.070 --> 00:37:34.340 from corporate interests and that At this time 00:37:34.340 --> 00:37:38.039 was primarily print ads, like just ads as well. 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:41.159 And sponsorships is something that you see develop 00:37:41.159 --> 00:37:47.340 especially into the early aughts as news organizations 00:37:47.340 --> 00:37:50.320 make more offerings to feel more customized and 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:53.380 tailored to their advertisers. So the first shift 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:58.679 that we see is as the World Wide Web comes on 00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:02.219 and news organizations are slow to their digital 00:38:02.219 --> 00:38:09.219 transformation. Then into the odds, this is around 00:38:09.219 --> 00:38:14.360 between 2009 and 2013, there's more cookie tracking. 00:38:15.659 --> 00:38:20.079 And in this window, Google buys the major cookie 00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:23.619 tracker, which is tracking how people are visiting 00:38:23.619 --> 00:38:26.420 different websites. And it provides a lot of... 00:38:26.380 --> 00:38:29.960 analytics to advertisers and this massively changes 00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:34.519 again how digital advertising operates on the 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:39.780 scale of digital publications. So now it is more 00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:43.039 difficult to, you have to have click -through 00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:45.260 rates and you have to have a certain number of 00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:48.480 impressions to reach the ad spends that you're 00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:54.019 promised. Then we jump through another let's 00:38:54.019 --> 00:38:57.400 say seven to 10 years into the 2020s. Facebook 00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:01.340 is really at its boom cycle. I would say its 00:39:01.340 --> 00:39:05.480 boom cycle was actually closer to 2015. We have 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:09.460 a lot of digital platforms have built their businesses 00:39:09.460 --> 00:39:13.760 off of capturing the online ad market. And you 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:17.380 have lots of Facebook ads and Google has a very 00:39:17.380 --> 00:39:21.760 successful ad business. And that is spend that 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:24.480 You know, the advertisers have a finite amount 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:27.440 of money that they are willing to spend. And 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:30.179 so that spend is going into platforms again instead 00:39:30.179 --> 00:39:34.840 of the websites and publications that news outlets 00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:37.679 would then have. So we have these three tiers 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:43.940 of technological innovation that directly affect 00:39:43.940 --> 00:39:47.679 advertiser behavior and that also creates massive 00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:50.800 shifts for the news and information sector on 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:53.309 how they can deliver. Thank you for that overview. 00:39:53.969 --> 00:39:57.090 You've just gone through the downfall of the 00:39:57.090 --> 00:40:02.510 advertising space. I know we're here to talk 00:40:02.510 --> 00:40:05.610 about the membership model as basically a good 00:40:05.610 --> 00:40:07.489 thing that Bellingcat has launched, but what 00:40:07.489 --> 00:40:12.130 are the risks to relying on mentorship as a financial 00:40:12.130 --> 00:40:15.989 model? I'd love to understand a little bit more 00:40:15.989 --> 00:40:20.210 about where the risks lie here. Yeah, there's 00:40:20.210 --> 00:40:23.480 risk in everything. inherent risk in, you know, 00:40:23.639 --> 00:40:28.119 waking up and deciding to engage. So first, the 00:40:28.119 --> 00:40:31.599 risk that I am very mindful of is I don't want 00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:34.420 people to hear more from me than they would hear 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:37.139 from the Bellingcat editorial and research teams. 00:40:38.460 --> 00:40:41.380 So Bellingcat naturally only publishes when there's 00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:44.380 something that is, when an investigation has 00:40:44.380 --> 00:40:47.940 closed and it is worth publication, it has a 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:50.940 standard of impact and there is a unique finding. 00:40:51.230 --> 00:40:55.889 That means that we are not operating on a cadence 00:40:55.889 --> 00:40:59.110 of publication that other newsrooms would do. 00:40:59.750 --> 00:41:01.949 Another newsroom, if they need to fill their 00:41:01.949 --> 00:41:04.989 quota, they might cover the pumpkin patch at 00:41:04.989 --> 00:41:10.030 their local community event. They can just sort 00:41:10.030 --> 00:41:12.070 of fill content space and that's something we 00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:15.289 would never do. So one risk is hearing too much 00:41:15.289 --> 00:41:24.420 from me. Another risk really is As a membership 00:41:24.420 --> 00:41:28.360 program is built on ensuring that we are speaking 00:41:28.360 --> 00:41:31.280 with an audience and it's increasingly more difficult 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:33.980 for audiences to find publications these days. 00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:39.460 We have what has been affectionately coined the 00:41:39.460 --> 00:41:43.000 Google zero when people are expecting to receive 00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:49.300 no more SEO from Google. We also have no more 00:41:49.300 --> 00:41:52.679 search results driving to their pages because 00:41:52.679 --> 00:41:58.420 of Google's changes and how they present search 00:41:58.420 --> 00:42:00.800 results through paid search, but also because 00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:05.139 of the artificial intelligence summaries. We're 00:42:05.139 --> 00:42:09.699 also seeing that we can receive traffic from 00:42:09.699 --> 00:42:12.719 bots, from AI bots, but that doesn't actually 00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:15.139 mean that somebody is clicking through or learning 00:42:15.139 --> 00:42:17.960 about the organization. developing a relationship. 00:42:19.019 --> 00:42:23.800 So really, the other risk is always audience 00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:27.880 discovery. And Charlie, I am able to go to sleep 00:42:27.880 --> 00:42:30.320 at night knowing that you work on that. And I'm 00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:33.880 constantly impressed by your ability to reach 00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:37.619 new audiences and really engage in a purposeful 00:42:37.619 --> 00:42:40.059 and thoughtful manner. But just acknowledging 00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:42.920 that that's the trend that we see in the industry. 00:42:42.920 --> 00:42:45.179 And that is one of the existential risks of a 00:42:45.179 --> 00:42:48.119 membership program. Oh, don't make me blush. 00:42:49.219 --> 00:42:55.099 Yes, the chat bot's AI search is becoming kind 00:42:55.099 --> 00:42:57.280 of something that newsrooms, I think we spoke 00:42:57.280 --> 00:42:58.820 about this on a previous talk, something that 00:42:58.820 --> 00:43:02.019 newsrooms are currently trying to prepare for 00:43:02.019 --> 00:43:04.599 and optimize for as well with their headlines 00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:06.480 and the way that they write stories, which is 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:10.539 interesting, the shift in the way that our stories 00:43:10.539 --> 00:43:14.820 are being recommended to audiences. Please keep 00:43:14.820 --> 00:43:16.940 your questions coming in. We've got about 15 00:43:16.940 --> 00:43:19.460 minutes left. So if you haven't asked a question 00:43:19.460 --> 00:43:25.219 yet, pop it in the chat. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, 00:43:25.219 --> 00:43:28.380 thanks. I just wanted to add on that question 00:43:28.380 --> 00:43:33.440 of the risk of membership. I think it's not in 00:43:33.440 --> 00:43:35.659 terms of membership specifically, but on relying 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:39.280 on one source of funding. It's always a risk, 00:43:39.519 --> 00:43:42.280 right? I mean, if you look at what happened to 00:43:42.280 --> 00:43:45.099 USAID, some organizations had quite a portion 00:43:45.099 --> 00:43:48.380 of their income from this and suddenly it stops, 00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:53.000 which nobody thought would happen. And then you 00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:56.880 have quite some difficulty. So in any case, people 00:43:56.880 --> 00:43:59.860 thinking about building their own organization 00:43:59.860 --> 00:44:02.320 or outlet, they should always keep in mind of 00:44:02.320 --> 00:44:04.780 having a diverse source of income. Of course, 00:44:04.980 --> 00:44:08.389 you cannot build all of this in one month. So 00:44:08.389 --> 00:44:10.750 it has to be built up continuously, but keep 00:44:10.750 --> 00:44:13.469 this in mind when looking at your portfolio that 00:44:13.469 --> 00:44:16.989 if there is a major donor coming your way, great, 00:44:17.090 --> 00:44:20.110 but you shouldn't rely on one person. And of 00:44:20.110 --> 00:44:22.250 course you also shouldn't rely on only membership 00:44:22.250 --> 00:44:26.170 model or a corporation who supports you or one 00:44:26.170 --> 00:44:29.110 institutional funder. So keep in mind that you 00:44:29.110 --> 00:44:33.190 constantly try to diversify and think about different 00:44:33.190 --> 00:44:35.860 stakeholders to your work. who might support 00:44:35.860 --> 00:44:38.579 you rather than only focusing on one. So yeah, 00:44:38.860 --> 00:44:42.000 that's a general advice to always keep in mind. 00:44:42.639 --> 00:44:44.239 Really important advice. And last time you were 00:44:44.239 --> 00:44:46.579 here, we talked about the collapse of USAID as 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:49.239 well and how devastating of an impact that had 00:44:49.239 --> 00:44:53.539 across your event and worldwide with funding 00:44:53.539 --> 00:44:56.300 because a lot of organizations depended on it. 00:44:56.579 --> 00:44:59.579 Thankfully, not Bellingcat though, we never took 00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:05.429 USAID. In regards to the membership model, what 00:45:05.429 --> 00:45:08.170 metrics tell you a membership program is healthy? 00:45:08.349 --> 00:45:10.690 What metrics are you looking for for success? 00:45:11.630 --> 00:45:15.630 That is such a great question. So there are a 00:45:15.630 --> 00:45:18.130 few different metrics that we measure in terms 00:45:18.130 --> 00:45:21.449 of, I mean, let's first define what success means. 00:45:24.079 --> 00:45:26.519 One very straightforward answer, which is, you 00:45:26.519 --> 00:45:28.940 know, how is this increasing the sustainability 00:45:28.940 --> 00:45:32.260 of Bellingcat? But the answer that is really 00:45:32.260 --> 00:45:36.559 beholden to a membership program is, are we providing 00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:39.619 real value to people that are willing to support 00:45:39.619 --> 00:45:43.960 us? So one of the most important metrics is churn 00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:48.880 rate. So churn rate is... When somebody has given 00:45:48.880 --> 00:45:51.840 and then they decide to no longer give that could 00:45:51.840 --> 00:45:55.239 be canceling a recurring gift or just doing one 00:45:55.239 --> 00:45:59.260 One single donation that that lapses beyond a 00:45:59.260 --> 00:46:03.519 year having a lower turn rate means that people 00:46:03.519 --> 00:46:07.639 still Connect to the mission of Bellingcat. We're 00:46:07.639 --> 00:46:11.699 still asking them in an appropriate way And when 00:46:11.699 --> 00:46:14.260 they become a member, they find that membership 00:46:14.260 --> 00:46:19.099 to be worthwhile. So that is If you are launching 00:46:19.099 --> 00:46:22.079 a membership program and there are lots of key 00:46:22.079 --> 00:46:24.260 performance indicators that you'll naturally 00:46:24.260 --> 00:46:27.679 measure in terms of the funds that you're actually 00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:30.860 raising and your average gift size and the number 00:46:30.860 --> 00:46:35.099 of people that you're receiving funds from, but 00:46:35.099 --> 00:46:37.199 the one that really says whether or not your 00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:41.809 program is meaningful is turn rate. I can see 00:46:41.809 --> 00:46:44.610 a few people typing as well. So as I said, we've 00:46:44.610 --> 00:46:47.449 only got 10 minutes left. So do pop your questions 00:46:47.449 --> 00:46:52.570 in. If you could change one thing about how journalism 00:46:52.570 --> 00:46:56.010 slash nonprofits are funded today, what would 00:46:56.010 --> 00:46:59.250 it be? If journalism is a public good, for example, 00:46:59.489 --> 00:47:03.309 should its survival depend on voluntary contributions? 00:47:04.329 --> 00:47:06.989 What would you change about the funding system 00:47:06.989 --> 00:47:11.519 as it stands today? It's an interesting question 00:47:11.519 --> 00:47:14.760 to consider where I live especially because I'm 00:47:14.760 --> 00:47:20.500 in the United States and I guess we're very well 00:47:20.500 --> 00:47:26.019 known for our full embrace of capitalism. So 00:47:26.019 --> 00:47:31.800 the question is also how do public goods sustain 00:47:31.800 --> 00:47:36.820 themselves in a capital system? Journalism in 00:47:36.820 --> 00:47:42.559 particular has such a meaningful metric for informing 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:47.300 people and helping them improve their lives through 00:47:47.300 --> 00:47:50.480 what they learn and can take action on and can 00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:55.719 hold their own representatives accountable, which 00:47:55.719 --> 00:47:58.500 makes it tricky to consider, for instance, the 00:47:58.500 --> 00:48:03.579 BBC model, especially in the United States. But 00:48:03.579 --> 00:48:07.340 just asking from a global context, there are 00:48:07.340 --> 00:48:09.920 so many things that are really worthwhile as 00:48:09.920 --> 00:48:15.039 public good. And what would be lovely to see 00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:20.159 from a journalism perspective is having secured 00:48:20.159 --> 00:48:23.920 sources that can distribute a percentage to different 00:48:23.920 --> 00:48:28.739 organizations with metrics included on tracking 00:48:28.739 --> 00:48:31.889 that spending. that was from a governing body 00:48:31.889 --> 00:48:35.469 that was not tied to political institutions. 00:48:36.230 --> 00:48:40.869 How that could be organized is really, I guess, 00:48:40.929 --> 00:48:44.250 a pipe dream. There are initiatives in the United 00:48:44.250 --> 00:48:49.989 States to try to get local cities and states 00:48:49.989 --> 00:48:54.110 to contribute X amount of their funding to advertising 00:48:54.110 --> 00:48:58.099 programs for local news, for instance. And I 00:48:58.099 --> 00:49:00.199 know there are some efforts in the United Kingdom 00:49:00.199 --> 00:49:04.739 for the public interest media fund. But yeah, 00:49:04.900 --> 00:49:08.739 there needs to be some, I would imagine, some 00:49:08.739 --> 00:49:12.000 third party that can be the arbiter on behalf 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:14.860 of public goods such as journalism. I think, 00:49:15.199 --> 00:49:18.340 yeah, in an ideal world, honestly, for me, journalism 00:49:18.340 --> 00:49:21.719 is community funded completely. But by community, 00:49:21.840 --> 00:49:25.420 I would enclose also anyone like a corporation 00:49:25.420 --> 00:49:28.019 or an institutional funder. So like I said, a 00:49:28.019 --> 00:49:29.940 diverse group of people who believe in public 00:49:29.940 --> 00:49:34.860 interest reporting, but who also take us accountable 00:49:34.860 --> 00:49:38.059 of actually delivering accountability and public 00:49:38.059 --> 00:49:40.079 interest reporting. So I think it should be a 00:49:40.079 --> 00:49:43.940 dialogue based relationship that you build and 00:49:43.940 --> 00:49:45.940 that you really, yeah, that you really measured 00:49:45.940 --> 00:49:49.190 on if you deliver. That takes me really nicely 00:49:49.190 --> 00:49:51.730 into one of the audience questions that's just 00:49:51.730 --> 00:49:53.809 come through, which says for large institutional 00:49:53.809 --> 00:49:56.789 funders that are looking to fund democracy resilient 00:49:56.789 --> 00:49:59.849 civil society organizations, how do you go about 00:49:59.849 --> 00:50:02.449 approaching those types of large donors? How 00:50:02.449 --> 00:50:05.650 do you get your foot in there? Exactly. I wanted 00:50:05.650 --> 00:50:07.829 to raise that question as well. I saw it in the 00:50:07.829 --> 00:50:11.429 chat. Thank you for that question. It's difficult 00:50:11.429 --> 00:50:13.570 to give a general answer because it's depending 00:50:13.570 --> 00:50:17.940 on the funder, but I think in general, media 00:50:17.940 --> 00:50:20.599 and journalism needs to have an answer on their 00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:24.420 role of an information ecosystem. So they need 00:50:24.420 --> 00:50:28.460 to answer what is their actual theory of change 00:50:28.460 --> 00:50:31.219 in terms of democracy or playing an important 00:50:31.219 --> 00:50:34.159 part in democracy because we've seen such a decline 00:50:34.159 --> 00:50:36.639 over the last years in trust in media in general. 00:50:36.739 --> 00:50:38.900 So you cannot rely on your traditional model, 00:50:38.900 --> 00:50:43.219 I think, anymore. So I think what funders are 00:50:43.219 --> 00:50:45.670 asking is like, okay, what is your current and 00:50:45.670 --> 00:50:48.190 future role in an information ecosystem that 00:50:48.190 --> 00:50:52.610 has been in jeopardy and that has asked to continuously 00:50:52.610 --> 00:50:54.750 play an important role in democracy resilience. 00:50:55.030 --> 00:50:59.090 So I think it's a very broad question that you 00:50:59.090 --> 00:51:02.030 need to tie to your actual work that you do. 00:51:02.210 --> 00:51:06.690 But I think having a good answer to your systemic 00:51:06.690 --> 00:51:11.539 role being part of the system is the key. We 00:51:11.539 --> 00:51:13.619 have quite a few questions coming through now. 00:51:13.619 --> 00:51:15.699 We've only got a small amount of time, so I'm 00:51:15.699 --> 00:51:18.960 going to run through them. And if we can give 00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:21.400 short succinct answers, that would be really 00:51:21.400 --> 00:51:25.000 useful. So, you mentioned that you are risk adverse, 00:51:25.059 --> 00:51:27.139 not posting content for the amount of posts or 00:51:27.139 --> 00:51:30.119 to fill content. How does Bellingcat keep audiences 00:51:30.119 --> 00:51:33.059 interested? Good articles take time, research 00:51:33.059 --> 00:51:35.179 and time to do it. Or in other words, how does 00:51:35.179 --> 00:51:37.300 Bellingcat keep working on the edge of publishing 00:51:37.300 --> 00:51:42.429 good content and satisfying the customer? I think 00:51:42.429 --> 00:51:45.130 that's a question for you to answer. Yeah, I 00:51:45.130 --> 00:51:51.789 was about to say that. Good editorial stuff and 00:51:51.789 --> 00:51:58.110 research is my answer. Yeah, in terms of making, 00:51:58.429 --> 00:52:02.110 I think what's unique about Bellingcat is that 00:52:02.110 --> 00:52:05.789 researchers generally work on things that interest 00:52:05.789 --> 00:52:08.429 them and that they are passionate about and that 00:52:08.429 --> 00:52:11.739 they care about deeply. researchers aren't just 00:52:11.739 --> 00:52:14.880 kind of thrown onto a beat that they're not experienced 00:52:14.880 --> 00:52:17.719 in or not passionate about. And I think that's 00:52:17.719 --> 00:52:20.139 something that really shows through in the work. 00:52:21.480 --> 00:52:24.980 And we are quite unique in the fact that we do, 00:52:25.079 --> 00:52:29.940 because we are marketed as a long form investigative 00:52:29.940 --> 00:52:33.699 collective, we have the ability and we have the 00:52:33.699 --> 00:52:36.599 expectation that we can take time with our investigations 00:52:36.599 --> 00:52:39.599 and that we aren't publishing something every 00:52:39.599 --> 00:52:43.800 single day. That luxury isn't given to you in 00:52:43.800 --> 00:52:48.000 mainstream news organizations. For example, at 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:50.440 the BBC, they have to publish a certain amount 00:52:50.440 --> 00:52:54.320 of stories a day and you're not given the same 00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:56.860 amount of time and flexibility as you do at Bellingcat. 00:52:56.980 --> 00:53:00.699 So I think the luxury that we have there in terms 00:53:00.699 --> 00:53:02.840 of the way that the organization was initially 00:53:02.840 --> 00:53:06.489 set up provides us with the ability to do those 00:53:06.489 --> 00:53:08.730 in -depth dives. And that's what Bellingcat is 00:53:08.730 --> 00:53:10.670 known for. And that's what people come to us 00:53:10.670 --> 00:53:12.969 for. And I think that's kind of part of our selling 00:53:12.969 --> 00:53:16.230 points. A little follow -up to that is, is it 00:53:16.230 --> 00:53:19.250 an idea for Bellingcat to sponsor small and or 00:53:19.250 --> 00:53:21.550 local reporters not affiliated with Bellingcat 00:53:21.550 --> 00:53:24.369 to gain more localized content? This of course 00:53:24.369 --> 00:53:26.190 risks that no good research has been done or 00:53:26.190 --> 00:53:28.570 not be able to check slash authenticated. Think 00:53:28.570 --> 00:53:30.869 of reporters in North Korea or Russia. I don't 00:53:30.869 --> 00:53:32.630 know if you guys want to answer that specifically. 00:53:32.730 --> 00:53:35.769 It's more of an editorial question, but I can 00:53:35.769 --> 00:53:40.130 give a quick brief and then if you want to take 00:53:40.130 --> 00:53:44.670 it from there, Sarah. In terms of paying for 00:53:44.670 --> 00:53:47.869 content, there's quite a few ethical risks involved 00:53:47.869 --> 00:53:54.010 with that in terms of getting sold stories. If 00:53:54.010 --> 00:53:58.369 you do pitch to Bellingcat, you can let us know 00:53:58.369 --> 00:54:00.650 the story that you're looking for and we can 00:54:00.650 --> 00:54:03.530 work with you on that in terms of developing 00:54:03.530 --> 00:54:07.590 it. We don't approach individuals for content. 00:54:07.909 --> 00:54:10.710 Individuals approach us usually, so we don't 00:54:10.710 --> 00:54:15.789 have training programs for specific researchers. 00:54:16.190 --> 00:54:18.710 Some of the big organizations do like DW Academy, 00:54:18.730 --> 00:54:22.190 for example. and that sponsor kind of newsrooms 00:54:22.190 --> 00:54:25.090 in lots of different jurisdictions. Bellingcat 00:54:25.090 --> 00:54:26.969 hasn't got the resources for that. We are still 00:54:26.969 --> 00:54:30.309 a small not -for -profits. However, there are 00:54:30.309 --> 00:54:32.349 other organizations that have done that in the 00:54:32.349 --> 00:54:35.969 past, but there are a lot of ethical considerations 00:54:35.969 --> 00:54:38.889 to take into account. For example, if you listen 00:54:38.889 --> 00:54:41.369 to our last stage talk with Costanza, she explained 00:54:41.369 --> 00:54:44.230 some of the issues and why her organization never 00:54:44.230 --> 00:54:47.530 pays for content. So there's some considerations 00:54:47.530 --> 00:54:48.989 there, but Sarah, I'll pass it over to you on 00:54:48.989 --> 00:54:52.059 that. Yeah, I just want to quickly add that another 00:54:52.059 --> 00:54:56.639 way that Bell and Cat works to participate in 00:54:56.639 --> 00:55:01.300 localized content is through partnerships. Last 00:55:01.300 --> 00:55:03.719 year, there were more than 30 partnerships that 00:55:03.719 --> 00:55:06.019 Bell and Cat interacted with with other news 00:55:06.019 --> 00:55:09.679 organizations, one that sticks out very clearly 00:55:09.679 --> 00:55:13.039 to me. is with an organization in the United 00:55:13.039 --> 00:55:16.539 States called CalMatters for the state of California. 00:55:16.960 --> 00:55:19.820 They are a regional policy -based organization 00:55:19.820 --> 00:55:23.820 or a policy coverage organization. This was a 00:55:23.820 --> 00:55:27.199 partnership where a reporter from CalMatters 00:55:27.199 --> 00:55:30.780 was in Bakersfield when he experienced an ICE 00:55:30.780 --> 00:55:35.920 raid from the U .S. Border Patrol. And he began 00:55:35.920 --> 00:55:38.059 working with an additional partner, which is 00:55:38.059 --> 00:55:41.340 Evident Media, on telling this story. But they 00:55:41.340 --> 00:55:46.239 hit several blocks on how far they could take 00:55:46.239 --> 00:55:49.739 the investigation. And Evident already knew Bellingcat, 00:55:49.760 --> 00:55:51.960 and they called and they said, we need some help. 00:55:52.219 --> 00:55:56.539 So Bellingcat was able to partner with CalMatters 00:55:56.539 --> 00:55:59.199 and actually had three investigations over the 00:55:59.199 --> 00:56:02.400 course of a year. And this partnership was having 00:56:02.400 --> 00:56:05.320 multiple researchers, I believe it was five researchers 00:56:05.320 --> 00:56:08.360 and editorial staff, and then also seven volunteers 00:56:08.360 --> 00:56:11.880 from our volunteer community working with CalMatters 00:56:11.880 --> 00:56:14.920 on these three different investigations. So that's 00:56:14.920 --> 00:56:18.860 an instance where Bellingcat... you know, built 00:56:18.860 --> 00:56:21.400 with communities does not parachute in. And I 00:56:21.400 --> 00:56:23.940 think that that's a very effective means of working 00:56:23.940 --> 00:56:27.300 in a local context. I'm really conscious of the 00:56:27.300 --> 00:56:29.460 fact that we are now at time. So I just want 00:56:29.460 --> 00:56:32.880 to ask this final, final question about how we 00:56:32.880 --> 00:56:36.880 might represent if you are a member or not. So 00:56:36.880 --> 00:56:39.199 somebody's asked in the chat, if X has the blue 00:56:39.199 --> 00:56:41.360 tick, would Bellingcat offer something similar 00:56:41.360 --> 00:56:45.260 to show membership level, like an associate mark 00:56:45.260 --> 00:56:48.000 or? something like that. Is there going to be, 00:56:48.219 --> 00:56:50.380 you know, like in the Discord server, we have 00:56:50.380 --> 00:56:53.780 a little cat symbol for people that you can assign 00:56:53.780 --> 00:56:57.159 to your name if you want to. Is there going to 00:56:57.159 --> 00:56:59.400 be something like that that kind of indicates 00:56:59.400 --> 00:57:02.280 that you're a member, a Bill & Cat member and 00:57:02.280 --> 00:57:06.440 not just a passive audience member? That's a 00:57:06.440 --> 00:57:09.019 really great question. We're always open to new 00:57:09.019 --> 00:57:12.519 ideas and especially being able to share that 00:57:12.519 --> 00:57:14.780 people are proud of being a Bellingcat member 00:57:14.780 --> 00:57:17.239 in the Discord server is something I think we 00:57:17.239 --> 00:57:21.280 can take back to the team and work on. And yeah, 00:57:21.519 --> 00:57:24.159 I actually, I love that because it's also, it's 00:57:24.159 --> 00:57:27.860 like a bit of advocacy for Bellingcat and Pride 00:57:27.860 --> 00:57:30.800 and supporting the organization. Always keep 00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:32.940 those good ideas coming. You can email us at 00:57:32.940 --> 00:57:36.360 donations at bellincat .com. And thank you for 00:57:36.360 --> 00:57:38.920 sharing that one. That was great. Love it. Thanks. 00:57:39.960 --> 00:57:44.840 As has been mentioned in this talk, you can now 00:57:44.840 --> 00:57:48.219 get involved with the membership program at Bellincat. 00:57:48.659 --> 00:57:50.860 These do follow the links in the chat. I'll also 00:57:50.860 --> 00:57:53.699 make sure that they are within the description 00:57:53.699 --> 00:57:56.159 of this podcast as well if you're listening back. 00:57:56.400 --> 00:57:59.639 There is a list of member benefits on there and 00:57:59.639 --> 00:58:02.320 ways that you can get involved. And there'll 00:58:02.320 --> 00:58:04.880 be a lot more information coming your way from 00:58:04.880 --> 00:58:08.460 Bellingcat in the next few months on what you 00:58:08.460 --> 00:58:12.739 can do to build support for Bellingcat going 00:58:12.739 --> 00:58:16.739 forwards. But thank you so much, Sarah and Marika 00:58:16.739 --> 00:58:19.340 for coming in today and walking us through what 00:58:19.340 --> 00:58:21.980 membership models look like, why Bellingcat has 00:58:21.980 --> 00:58:26.489 adopted it. the difference between these models 00:58:26.489 --> 00:58:29.889 in not -for -profits and newsrooms. And we'll 00:58:29.889 --> 00:58:32.849 be back in two weeks' time with a stage talk 00:58:32.849 --> 00:58:35.750 on that leap to be the investigation that was 00:58:35.750 --> 00:58:39.650 just mentioned. So we'll be following up on that 00:58:39.650 --> 00:58:42.769 piece in two weeks' time. For now, thank you, 00:58:42.809 --> 00:58:46.190 everybody, and thank you for joining. Thank you 00:58:46.190 --> 00:58:48.969 for listening to the stage talk. If you'd like 00:58:48.969 --> 00:58:51.949 to catch a stage tour live where you can ask 00:58:51.949 --> 00:58:54.869 the guest questions, join the Bellingcat Discord 00:58:54.869 --> 00:59:01.510 server by visiting www .discord .gg slash Bellingcat. 00:59:01.989 --> 00:59:05.110 The music you've heard is titled Dawn by Newer 00:59:05.110 --> 00:59:07.550 Self and is courtesy of Artlist.