Worker-Owned News Outlets Are Changing Media Industry
June Zaccone
Rather than relying on corporate funding, outlets like 404 Media and Defector earn revenue from paid reader subscriptions. Many employee-owned media companies also take little or no money from advertisers. For instance, in 2023, Morning Brew reported that Defector got 95 percent of its revenue from subscribers during its first year [2020], and “outside of a few small, DTC brands, the company was focusing on other areas of the business rather than advertising; a year later, Defector said it had ‘largely stopped’ running ads on its site and in its newsletters.”
In 2025, Brett White, the editor-in-chief of the employee-owned entertainment news outlet Pop Heist, told Poynter he was “very adamant against on-site advertising.” He added, “Just as much as corporate interests and the Google algorithm notification of everything has ruined pop culture journalism, I think ads have as well.”
Besides helping journalists avoid pressure from advertisers and corporate overseers, employee ownership can boost job security. According to a 2022 study published by IZA World of Labor, worker-owned companies “have more stability, higher survival rates, and fewer layoffs in recessions.”....