Methods and Definitions

See below for our research team’s methods and defined terms. Please email INN’s Researcher Ha Ta with any questions. 

METHODS

About the survey: INN distributed the Index survey online in January 2025 to 444 INN Network newsrooms, excluding service organizations that are also INN members. Ninety-two percent, or 407 organizations, completed the survey. Survey responses reflect performance in the calendar year 2024. Previous years’ surveys were generally representative, with response rates ranging from 54% to 94%. Starting in 2020, INN began requiring outlets participating in NewsMatch to complete the Index survey, which raised completion rates for subsequent surveys. Survey language is provided here. The data do not scientifically represent all North American nonprofit news outlets because not all of them belong to INN, including an array of public media stations. Cautiously interpret specific year-over-year comparisons; this report draws directional trends across the nonprofit news field.

A note on the cohort used for this report: The Index tracks parent organizations rather than individual titles. In cases where an organization produces multiple outlets, we collect data only from the parent organization. This report includes the data of 376 of the 407 news organizations that completed the survey. Four outlets were excluded because they are not primarily publishers. Chapter 1 through chapter 5 of this report exclude data provided by 27 members from the public media sector due to systematic differences in how they report revenue and expenses. Chapter 6 presents data exclusively from these 27 outlets. 

For the revenue analysis portion in Chapter 4, we excluded 12 startups younger than one year as they did not have annual data to compare. Another seven organizations did not provide revenue data. Thus, the revenue section of the report is based on the information provided by 357 outlets. 

For the year-over-year revenue analysis portion in Chapter 4, we drew comparisons from smaller cohorts of outlets that provided complete financial data for 2021 and 2024 (N = 236).

For the year-over-year audience analysis portion in Chapter 5, we include data from all outlets that reported complete audience data — either web visitors or newsletter subscribers — for 2021 and 2024. Sample sizes vary slightly by metric, depending on data availability in each year:

• 229 outlets provided complete web visitor data for both years.
• 226 outlets provided complete newsletter subscriber data for both years.

A note on medians vs. averages vs. ranges: The Index authors believe median calculations are more representative due to some significant outliers that skew averages. However, for some calculations like the average donation in dollars, we can’t calculate the median because we do not have a list of data points for this survey question. In these cases, we default to averages. We supply a range of cases where knowing the upper and lower limits of a data point help with understanding the field. 

DEFINITIONS

• People of color: This is an extrapolated category that we have defined, for the purposes of this report, as encompassing individuals who identify with a racial or ethnic category other than white, including multiracial.
• Core group of digital-first, independent publishers: This term refers to the digital-first outlets that are not public broadcasters. For chapter 1 through chapter 5 of the report, the research team excluded financial data from the two dozen public broadcasting INN members due to systematic differences in how the organizations report revenue and expenses. Chapter 6 presents data exclusively from these 27 outlets. 
• Direct audiences: Direct audiences use and engage with a news outlet’s platforms, including its website, email newsletters and social media platforms. Direct audiences are largely interpreted in this report as a news organization’s web traffic (measured by average monthly unique visitors) and its number of email newsletter subscribers. 
• Earned revenue: Earned revenue is the funds a nonprofit organization generates by providing value to businesses including events, sponsorship, advertising and underwriting. This contrasts with funds received from philanthropic sources, such as grants and major gifts. Earned revenue is one of the three major revenue streams for nonprofit news. 
• Foundations: Foundations are nonprofit organizations that support charitable activities to serve the common good. Foundation funding is one of three major revenue streams for nonprofit news. 
• FTE: full-time equivalents, referring to both salaried employees (including staff, executives and managers) and significant contractors. For this question, we count FTE for all paid personnel rather than individual staff members. A full-time employee working 40 hours a week is one FTE; a half-time employee working 20 hours is 0.5 FTE.
• Global news: Global organizations cover broad world topics or produce news about a country or region outside of the United States. 
• Individual giving: This umbrella term encompasses financial contributions from individuals, including small-dollar (less than $1,000), mid-level ($1,000 – $5,000) and major donors (more than $5,000). Survey respondents use these shared definitions for their Index survey reporting. Individual giving is one of the three major revenue streams for nonprofit news. 
• Local news: Local news organizations cover part or all of a community, municipality or county, or a cluster of them, ranging from large metro areas to small neighborhoods. 
• National news: National organizations focus on public affairs issues that affect, in this context, the United States, except for two survey respondents in Canada. 
• Regional news: Regional news outlets cover news within two or more states or parts of states making up a region, such as the Midwest. 
• State news: State news outlets primarily focus on government policy, politics or topics of public interest, such as health or the environment, in one state. 
• Third-party audiences: This term refers to audiences interacting with a news outlet’s coverage or services but on a platform not managed by the news outlet itself. In this report, we refer to the organizations managing these external platforms as “third-party publishers.” Third-party audiences largely come from other news outlets republishing or rebroadcasting content, including on social media and other digital platforms.