In a search for sustainability: digitalization and its influence on business models in Latin America

Shifts in customer behavior, high-growth markets, globalization, and technological innovations create a “window of opportunity” for new business strategy and innovation in the media ecosystem. It will continue to have a tremendous impact on how media organizations create value and position themselves for the audience. Trying to survive in this new digital scenario, Latin American news publishers are breaking with their traditional business models, and looking for novel and more promising models for funding journalism. In order to explore these new dynamics of the new media ecosystem, this chapter discusses approaches adopted by Latin American news outlets to sustain their business strategies with innovation and quality journalism. This vibrant and multicultural region presents its own national characteristics and specificities that permeate in their business models. Without neglecting ads in their different forms, news media organizations found on a myriad of services, such educational activities and consulting new ways to finance their activities. While in most developed countries, mainly in the major cities of Argentina and Brazil, audience participation is becoming a reality, in other countries, fundraising is still limited. Philanthropic funding and temporary grant-giving are important resources for many news outlets across region. However, most organizations are seeking for their sustainability through a combination of various revenue sources, also known as multi-revenue stream models.