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How to start journalism company?

 

1. Intro



We are a technology company that collaborates with the world’s top journalists to produce the best journalism possible.


We would like to hire a team of talented individuals who can help shape and build an innovative, competitive news product.


We are looking for a dynamic, hands-on leader who is excited by the possibilities and willing to work tirelessly to deliver products that will make our customers more informed, engaged and motivated to continue doing great journalism.



2. What is Journalism Company?



Journalism is a very complex and very diverse field. The number of publications that are willing to accept incoming applicants is also very, very low (if not zero). Journalism is a lot more than taking photos and writing articles. There are many ways to get money from the journalism industry, such as:


• Advertising – selling advertising space to publications or brands


• Sponsorship – paying for the use of events, conferences or other media outlets


• Sponsorship – paying for the use of photography


• Content creation – writing original content, engaging with fans on social media, developing stories and marketing products.


What kind of journalism company do you want to start? What kind of funding model do you want to pursue? What kind of people would you like to work with? What kind of culture do you want to create? And why is it so hard to find good people these days?



3. Why we need good team for journalism company?



I have often wondered how to start a new journalism company (if you are interested in this, click on the link for my previous post: Why I Wrote This Post).


I am a journalist and it has been a dream of mine to publish my own newspaper for quite some time. In the past, I spent several years as an editor of various publications in Denmark before starting my own newspaper. I have been thinking about starting a new journalism company for a long time but I have never found anyone with enough experience who could join me.


So, we are lucky to stumble upon the perfect candidate: Peter Holmström (@peterholmström), CEO of @SwedishCoffeeNews and previously CEO of The Economist Group (avatar). He is one of Sweden’s most experienced and well-known business journalists, having previously worked at several Swedish newspapers (including Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet) as well as at The Economist Group where he led its Swedish division as CEO between 2011-2014. He was also part of the team behind Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (Svenska Handelsbanken) when it was founded in 1982. As someone who knows all about Swedish business, Peter is absolutely perfect for this job; besides that he can speak Swedish fluently and has an incredible sense of humor — bonus!


We have hired him without any hesitation. First, we asked Peter if he would be willing to be our partner; second, we asked him what his own personal values were; third, we asked him to write an article about his experience with starting a journalism company. And finally we started interviewing him by phone — which turned out to be extremely fruitful. His answers may be quoted here or on his public profile page on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterholmström


Peter is not alone — Marko Peric (CEO at FjordAir) has joined us too! Marko has worked at Svenska Handelsbanken since 2001 where he was responsible for strategy development and marketing as well as being involved in many projects around Europe — including Internet development projects like MOOOo that came out in 2000 (see video below). In addition to Marko’s personal experiences with Swedish business and communications culture, he also has a wealth of knowledge from his career at Svenska Handels



4. How to build our team for journalism company?



I’m guessing that most startups have heard this question at least once. The “who?” part of it will vary, depending on your industry and the sort of startup you are trying to build. For example, start-ups in the finance industry are likely to include talented banking employees, lawyers and accountants who have proven their ability to work with clients going back a few years.


For firms in other industries, however, it is more likely that they will be looking for a team of “generalists” – folks with backgrounds in sales or service who know how to run a small business.


The trick is figuring out what mix of skills and experience you will need for your startup — and then getting the right people into the right jobs for you. You can do this by having interviews with hiring managers from top startups (read: Google or Facebook) or tech companies (read: Apple or Microsoft).



5. Conclusion



What’s the best way to start a journalism company? The answer will depend on your country’s legal system. In most jurisdictions, it is possible to register a business and start a corporation (or not). But that is not the case in many other places, and you will be required to use an established structure (such as a limited liability company) or existing structure (like a press shop) to be able to start your own journalism company.


If you are looking for more information on how to start such a business, check out the RTIC's blog post: Startup #2: Registering With The Department of Trade and Industry


For more information on how to register with the DTI, read this post from our CEO: Registration For IP Holders With The Department of Trade and Industry

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