By The JOURVALUE project, “What Is Journalism Worth?”, launched on 15 June 2026, aims to examine how media outlets are financed today, assess the working conditions of journalists, and identify solutions that can help secure a sustainable future for quality, independent journalism.
The project is coordinated by the Croatian Journalists’ Union (SNH) and implemented in partnership with the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers of North Macedonia (SSNM), the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM), and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), with the support of the European Union (EU).
JOURVALUE emerged from the shared experience of journalists’ organisations across the region, which have long faced similar challenges: declining media revenues, the growing prevalence of precarious forms of employment, increasing pressure on professional journalism, and the mounting difficulty of financing investigative reporting.
Over the next two years, the partners will conduct extensive research in Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia to address several key questions: how media outlets are funded, how journalists are paid, how well freelancers are protected, and which models can ensure sustainable and dignified working conditions in journalism.
Based on the findings, the project will develop training programmes covering journalists’ rights, freelance fee negotiations, collective bargaining, content monetisation, freelancer protection, and the digital and psychological safety of journalists.
One of the project’s key outcomes will be the creation of a regional digital platform providing journalists and media workers with access to legal tools, contract templates, practical guides, training materials, and a professional support network.
The project will also develop public policy recommendations and explore alternative funding models for independent and investigative journalism, while raising public awareness through campaigns that highlight why quality journalism is not a cost, but a public good.
While society expects journalism to serve as a guardian of democracy, many journalists continue to work in insecure conditions, for low fees, or without adequate legal protection. Freelancers and those working outside major newsrooms or in local media are particularly vulnerable. As the volume of content continues to grow, the resources available to those who produce it continue to shrink.
We want to draw attention to the fact that behind the articles we read every day, the news we share, and the stories that shape public debate are real people—journalists whose work requires time, expertise, experience, and a commitment to serving the public interest. Every published story represents hours of research, conversations with sources, fact-checking, and responsibility towards the public, often involving personal and security risks.
Democracy cannot function without informed citizens. And there can be no informed citizens without journalists whose work has value and deserves to be fairly compensated.
