Shared services as critical infrastructure: what publishers, partners and funders need to know

Across the world, independent news organizations are reinventing the same core capabilities on their own. It’s costly, slow, and rarely sustainable. Shared services offer a different path. By pooling expertise, technology, and operational support, they create capacity that individual outlets struggle to build alone. When they work, they move the needle for entire cohorts of publishers.
This session takes a global look at shared services as emerging infrastructure for independent media. Rather than talking theory, we’ll focus on what publishers gain in practice, how funders can enable this work at scale, and the kinds of partnerships that make shared services effective and trustworthy.
We’ll explore:
> Why shared services are becoming a practical choice for publishers facing limited capacity and rising operational demands
> What they look look like in real life, from technical support to revenue development and business operations
> The partnerships and funding models that help these hubs scale impact and reduce duplicating effort
> Early lessons from initiatives in the US, Europe, and the Global South, and how these insights can guide the next wave of ecosystem support
Participants will leave with a clearer sense of when shared services make sense, how to get the most out of them, and what role they can play – as publishers, funders, or partners – in strengthening sustainable news ecosystems.
Why this session matters
Shared services have the potential to scale what works, reduce duplication, and strengthen entire regions, but only if publishers adopt them and funders support sustained investment. This is a candid conversation about how that actually happens.
Moderated by Kim Bode.
Organised in association with Newspack.