Study: Online-only news sites 'struggling to cover costs'

Journalism.uk reporting:
A report looking at the successes and failures of online-only news websites in Europe has found that most are unable to cover their operating costs, meaning most survive for less than three years.

The study, "Survival is Success", published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), suggests that "surviving for more than a few years is a form of success in itself".

Out of nine start-up news sites analysed in the report, only two, Mediapart (France) and Perlentaucher (Germany) broke even. Mediapart is sustained by a paywall system, while Perlentaucher's low operating costs help its survival, combined with a "highly diversified business model" the report adds.

The rest of the nine have either shut down, been bought out by news magazines, or continue to operate at a loss, surviving only on support from external investors.

The report says there are two main challenges for online-only news websites:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/study-online-only-news-sites-struggling-to-cover-costs-/s2/a548867/