Stuff asks website readers to donate to its journalism

Monday, 20 April 2020

Stuff has become the latest media organisation to ask readers of its website to make a contribution towards funding its journalism.

Stuff had been planning to ask readers for donations prior to the coronavirus outbreak, chief executive Sinead Boucher says.

The media business is joining dozens of other media outlets in New Zealand and overseas including The Otago Daily Times, the Spinoff, Newsroom, Farmers Weekly and Times of San Diego, to solicit donations from readers using Kiwi-developed system PressPatron.

The crowd-funding approach has also been used by some major international online news sites such as The Guardian.

Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher said the initiative had been planned for months, but the impact of Covid-19 meant Stuff had accelerated its plans.

'Despite record demand for journalism, the news media is facing a dramatic decline in the advertising revenues that have traditionally funded it.

* Stuff staff asked to accept 15% pay cut for 12 weeks

* Government finalising media support package**

'We need to rely more directly on the support of readers,' Boucher said.

'We hope people who choose to support us will do so because they value the role of journalism in our society and want it to continue.'

Stuff editorial director Mark Stevens said it was looking at reader donations as a funding mechanism that would be in place long-term, rather than as a temporary measure.

But he did not rule out Stuff later introducing a paywall.

'We constantly review these things,' he said.

Boucher told Parliament's Epidemic Response select committee last week that Stuff's advertising revenues had fallen by more than half since the coronavirus pandemic began impacting the business.

While it has avoided redundancies so far, it joined New Zealand Herald owner NZME last week in requesting staff take a 15 per cent pay cut for 12 weeks to help it through the pandemic crisis.

Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi told the committee the Government was developing a short-term assistance package for the media.

But he indicated the main measure might be bringing forward government purchases of advertising space, rather than a bail-out of individual companies.

Stevens said Stuff had not timed its appeal for donations to make a point to the Government.

Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher says she hopes people will contribute because they value the role of journalism in the community.

He had no set expectations about how much readers might contribute, and the size of individual donations would be up to readers, he said.

'My view is very much that every little bit makes a difference.

'We are not asking for a specific amount from anyone.'

Stuff would strike a balance on its website in terms of how up-front its appeals were, he said.

'I'd like to say it's not intrusive, but equally there is no chance our readers won't know we are doing this.

'There will be pop-ups and messages on landing pages and within individual stories.'

Stuff is owned by Australian company Nine, but Stevens hoped that would not make readers less inclined to contribute.

'Readers aren't wrong – our parent company is Australian.

'[But] we are run as a New Zealand business and are taking control of our destiny here. This is an initiative by us, for us.'

Stuff carries a wide variety of content including news, in-depth features, investigations, opinion pieces and lighter entertainment material.

But Stevens said he also hoped that diversity – and the consequent risk that there would be content on the site that individual readers did not like – would not work against donations.

Stuff editorial director Mark Stevens says appeals will be made through pop-ups and messages on stories.

Some other news sites that had appealed for donations such as Newsroom and the Spinoff were more niche, he said.

'We have got just shy of 400 journalists across 20 locations. We are the only news organisation that is in that position.'

Stevens said he would be keen to work out what types of content triggered people to make contributions.

'That said, we will continue to edit, commission and make news decisions on journalistic instinct and newsworthiness,' he said.