The rapid digitization of society has profoundly transformed how people access information and interact with their surroundings. Today, news is consumed primarily on digital platforms and in algorithm-mediated environments, where immediacy, constant content circulation, and competition for attention have created an information landscape unrecognizable from that of a decade ago. This shift has facilitated the emergence of new players that respond directly to the logic of the internet and contemporary consumption habits.
In this context, Digital-Native Media (DNM) have emerged as platforms designed specifically for the web, with content tailored for social networks and digital ecosystems. Unlike traditional outlets, they do not evolve from print, radio, or television; instead, they are born online, adapting inherently to the multi-platform nature of the digital age.
In contrast to their traditional counterparts, Digital-Native Media operate with flexible structures and financing models heavily conditioned by platform traffic. While their reliance on real-time metrics makes them agile, it also exposes them to fierce competition, funding constraints, and external pressures. These factors often jeopardize their editorial autonomy and long-term sustainability, particularly in regions where audiences and resources are scarce.
The Impact of Business Models
To examine this phenomenon, Dr. René Jara, a researcher at the Usach School of Journalism, is leading a Fondecyt Regular project that analyzes the structural logic of DNMs from a territorial and comparative perspective. The study gathers data across various regions to identify the types of capital within journalistic teams and evaluate how specific business models dictate editorial decision-making and project viability.
“A significant portion of news consumption today flows through media created exclusively for the digital environment. Understanding their inner workings and the pressures they face is essential to grasping how journalism is changing in Chile,” says Dr. Jara.
To advance this understanding, the research incorporates a systematic survey of cases across the country, observing how these outlets interact with their productive, economic, and social contexts. This territorial lens reveals stark differences between Santiago and other regions, where the availability of audiences and funding directly conditions how media organize themselves, define their editorial lines, and manage sustainability.
“In several regions, we observe that digital media develop in close relation to local productive activities. While this financing helps sustain them, it also conditions the type of journalism they can produce. It is essential to study these field dynamics to understand how they manifest in different contexts throughout the country,” Dr. Jara explains.
The Challenge of Social Media
Another key focus of the project is the symbiotic link between these outlets and social media platforms. The digital business model, rooted in immediate circulation, introduces pressures that redefine the margins of professional autonomy and the very nature of the journalism produced.
“These dynamics do not just determine financial sustainability; they redefine the informative function of the media, creating new limitations for journalism in an ecosystem increasingly dictated by platforms,” the researcher notes.
The three-year project employs a methodology combining interviews, territorial analysis, and audience data reviews. The team will triangulate perspectives by interviewing directors, commercial managers, and journalists from various DNMs to compare organizational discourses, financing models, and professional practices.
Dr. Jara is joined by co-researchers Dr. Alejandra Phillippi and Dr. Ximena Orchard, both from the Usach School of Journalism, alongside graduate and undergraduate students who will assist in fieldwork and data analysis.
The research aims to provide a comprehensive map of Chile’s digital-native media ecosystem, generating evidence to identify regional tensions and conditions for success. By integrating fieldwork with a rigorous review of business models, the project seeks to provide tools that strengthen local media and foster a more diverse and robust public debate.
“We hope this work results in a definitive reference on digital-native media in Chile, consolidating the lessons and challenges we have observed. If this project helps regional outlets make better decisions and navigate fewer obstacles, we will have fulfilled our purpose,” concludes Dr. Jara. Chile,” says Dr. René Jara.