How media outlets can strengthen strategy, audience insight, and revenue for long-term sustainability.
At a glance
In an increasingly digital and transforming media landscape, building sustainable newsrooms requires more than great storytelling; it demands strategy, structure, and a clear understanding of audience and revenue. As the media landscape becomes increasingly digital, many newsrooms continue to operate without foundational systems to support growth. A recent Gatefield survey of 25 Nigerian newsrooms reveals:
44% lack a cohesive digital-first strategy or deeply understand their audience demographics
64% describe their monetization models as ineffective
Only 12% train their staff on a monthly basis
To thrive, newsrooms must move beyond content creation to embrace clear strategic direction, structured audience engagement, and intentional revenue innovation.
Strategy is missing but essential
Digital transformation is not new, yet nearly half of the newsrooms surveyed still lack a formal digital strategy. In a fragmented media ecosystem, this limits their ability to:
Scale content across platforms
Target and retain audiences effectively
Make data-informed editorial and business decisions
What this means: Newsrooms need more than an editorial calendar, they need an operating system. Strategy should no longer be episodic; it must be embedded in daily workflows and decision-making.
Digital-first does not only mean social media it can also include websites, podcasts, videos, and many more
Chiamaka Dike, Senior Editor, gst
Knowing your audience is a competitive advantage
Understanding the audience goes beyond basic metrics. Yet, only 44% of newsrooms surveyed reported having deep insight into their readers’ demographics, behaviours, and preferences. Without this foundation, newsrooms struggle to build trust and loyalty, tailor content for resonance and reach, and attract advertising and partnership opportunities. To improve, newsrooms must pair analytics with active listening through surveys, comment threads, social media, and reader interviews.
Your home is not where the heart is—it’s where your community resides.
Christina Akintoye, Narrative Practice Lead
Monetization models need structure
Most newsrooms are still experimenting with monetisation but without a clear framework. Only 36% rate their current revenue approaches as even moderately effective. Revenue innovation is essential, and several approaches show promise:
Editorial partnerships and branded content
Merchandise and community products
Contributor networks and content studios
However, few have a formal process to test, measure, or scale these innovations. Without a structured approach to testing and refining these models, sustainability will remain out of reach.
A sector in transition, not decline
The findings point to momentum. More than half of newsrooms surveyed have 3–5 people dedicated to digital content, signalling a growing investment in digital capability. Now is the time to consolidate that progress with better strategy, deeper audience insight, and more intentional revenue thinking.
Three questions for newsroom leaders
If you are a newsroom leader, strategist, or journalist thinking about how to grow sustainably, start with three questions:
Do we have a clear, actionable digital-first strategy?
Do we truly know who our audience is, and how they consume content?
Are we building a long-term business or simply producing content?
Media organizations must begin to think like consultancies and service providers
Joy Una, Special Initiatives Lead
How Gatefield can help
Gatefield partners with mission-driven media organisations to strengthen their strategy, storytelling, and social impact. Our approach helps newsrooms turn insights into action so they can build and grow with intention.
