On March 28, a newspaper with an innovative business model evolved by a group of journalists and academics hit the stands in Chile’s capital Santiago. Diaro Uno (Newspaper One) promises to give a voice to those left out by the country’s media.
Marcel Claude, the weekly paper’s editor-in-chief, said Diaro Uno will have an initial print run of 20,000 copies and a cover price of 600 pesos (just over a dollar). To safeguard its independence, Claude created a participative business model in which any citizen can become a shareholder in the newspaper and elect its board at a general meeting. There are 1,500 partners so far; each share—non-transferable to avoid accumulation of stock—costs 10,000 pesos (about US $20).
The idea is to build an editorial board with representatives of civil society organizations, academics and workers.