Europe’s first dedicated journalism house has opened in the German capital city of Berlin. It is the culmination of a concerted philanthropic effort to boost the growth of independent media.  

Funded by the Schöpflin Foundation, the Publix building was first conceived together with journalists and civil society organisations as far back as 2017. 

Seven years later, the dedicated space officially opened in mid-September.

The Publix building in Berlin offers over 300 workstations, conference rooms and spaces for workshops and open forums. Upcoming discussions include protecting journalists from online harassment, empowering women and LGBTQ+ journalists and tools needed to make a good investigative journalist. 

The new building is also the permanent base for several media organisations including investigative outlet Correctiv, known for its expose of the German far right earlier this year, the European Fund for Journalism In Exile and the Media Development Fund.  

Founder Hans Schöpflin (right) together with Publix director Maria Exner and Tim Göbel, CEO of the Schöpflin Foundation. Photo courtesy of Publix.

The Schöpflin Foundation describes Publix as ‘a new home for all those who engage in journalism, shape the public sphere and strengthen democracy.’ 

It comes months after the opening of a groundbreaking new cross border European media fund launched in July across Germany, Austria and Switzerland in a bid to create a sustainable journalism industry and ‘serve the common good’. 

The Media Forward Fund is the first of its kind in Europe. 

Founded as a non-profit fund, the Schöpflin Foundation is one of eight foundations and one impact investor backing the cause, with an endowment of 6 million euros so far. Germany’s federal government has also supported the project.  

Inside the Publix building, Europe’s new home of cross border journalism. Photo by Kevin Fuchs/Publix

In a statement, the Media Forward Fund said it plans three funding rounds in 2024. Either 200,000 euros for project funding or 400,000 euros for organisational funding, for two years. 

Funding criteria will depend on the diversity, independence and quality of independent media.   

The initiative is a breakthrough moment that follows in the footsteps of the Press Forward project in the US, where half a billion dollars will be distributed to boost local media.

First opened in September last year, Press Forward aims to strengthen communities by reversing the dramatic decline in local journalism and news reporting that has coincided with an increasingly divided America and weakening trust in institutions.   

The MacArthur and Knight Foundations have spearheaded what they hope will become a $1 billion-dollar pooled fund to revive and rebuild public interest media in the US.

According to the MacArthur Foundation, approximately 2,200 local newspapers have closed since 2005, resulting in 20 per cent of Americans living in so-called ‘news deserts’, with little to no reliable coverage of important local events. 

‘To preserve our democracies, European funders need to step up their ambition – and quickly,’ says Alliance executive editor Charles Keidan in our regular Critical Friend column.

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine.