The death of the media darling

There’s no doubt that 2025 will be a tough year across journalism. There are many unknowns and more disruptions in store than in years past.

One thing I think may seem doom-and-gloom but has a silver lining is the death of the media darling. You know them. They’re the handful of “rising star” news organizations that land big grants and projects continuously.

Those places may well deserve the attention they got, but as some of the founders of those organizations step away, it’s becoming clear the ecosystem is going to have to change with the economy.

A bill currently in the U.S. Senate, if passed, will be one more jab at the way we support and fund news organizations. HR9495 allows the Secretary of Treasury to designate nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations.” Philanthropies and nonprofits are watching this closely, and not happy about it. A letter from the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum states “the legislation runs counter to constitutional due process protections by placing the burden of proof on the accused organization and providing only 90 days for organizations to demonstrate their innocence before revoking their tax-exempt status.”

If it makes it through, any number of journalism nonprofits (both as funders and news organizations) could be targeted because of what they publish, and we know the Trump administration has no love for the media.

What does this have to do with media darlings? If I were a betting person, I’d wager there will be fewer large grants and more smaller ones, making distribution arguably more fair, and lessening the potential blow if one (or a few) organizations are hit and have their status revoked.

This is already happening. No matter what you think of them, Press Forward is trying to spread the wealth, and there’s been an increase in small one- to two-person organizations popping up, especially in local.

Is that bad? I don’t think so. It could be the rise of a new kind of more supportive, ecosystem-oriented world.

Building the bones of this ecosystem will be more co-ops and collectives. These go beyond industry support groups, who do admirable work, because they are a collective of organizations working together. Collaborations don’t have to revolve only around content. Usually they have some shared characteristic, like the Latino Media Consortium and local-focused groups like the KC Media Collective. But others exist to share resources of some kind, whether advertising or technical, like the Tiny News Collective and URL Media.

You can argue the rise of the creator economy is creating a new kind of media darling. That’s possible, and there are people who rise from creator to media entrepreneur, but for now, the majority of creators rely on sponsors, deals, and individual subscriptions (think Patreon). They are, in a way, a small ecosystem of their own.

What does all that make? 2025 will be a year with fewer shooting stars, but we’ll start building constellations in a broader night sky.