Abstract
This article suggests that the adoption of hybrid business models coupled with the establishment of an ethical advertising platform could help counter the emergence of news deserts. The latter are geographic areas and policy issues lacking coverage because of the crisis of the commercial model of news provision. Three clusters of characteristics are used to streamline and compare business models: (1) revenue models, (2) patrons and their motives, and (3) legal frameworks for the incorporation of the organization. Hybrid business models are designed by mixing the principles underpinning the Benefit Corporation or the Low-profit Limited Liability Company (L3C), with the basic characteristics of commercial and non-profit news organizations. The term ethical advertising refers to promotional activities that non-profits and other organizations dedicated to social goals normally undertake, including marketing, fundraising, or public-awareness campaigns. Based on data published by the Internal Revenue Services, this article argues that a digital platform for ethical advertising could face a demand worth over $1 billion a year. Additionally, this platform could effectively match non-profits’ demand for an audience with a pro-social attitude with non-profit and hybrid news organizations’ need for additional revenue streams.
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