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Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Inside Rev360 — how Daily Maverick is using AI to boost community engagement, impact and revenue
AI offers the power to revolutionise journalism by boosting efficiency, driving growth and helping media outlets adapt to shifting consumer habits and the relentless rise of digital platforms. The average news consumer isn't exactly spoilt for choice. Between pop-up paywalls and unvetted information flooding social media, reader trust is steadily eroding (understandably so). While subscription models dominate the media landscape, Daily Maverick's voluntary subscription approach, where readers pay what they can if they can, keeps our journalism freely accessible to all. Yet, with reader interest declining rapidly globally, we're turning to AI to take reader revenue to the next level, backed by the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge. The rise of digital media has transformed how we consume news, endlessly searching, streaming and scrolling across platforms, hungry for real-time updates and deeper insights. But this easy access also fuels misinformation and disinformation, threatening independent journalism's very survival. In times like these, innovation isn't optional; it's essential. AI offers the power to revolutionise journalism by boosting efficiency, driving growth and helping media outlets adapt to shifting consumer habits and the relentless rise of digital platforms. Daily Maverick is proud to be one of 35 global newsrooms, selected out of 700 applicants, for the 2024 JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, a nine-month programme led by the London School of Economics' JournalismAI team and supported by the Google News Initiative. This opportunity has enabled us to develop Revenue360 (Rev360), an ambitious suite of AI-powered tools designed to deepen reader engagement, grow our Maverick Insider community and demonstrate the real-world impact of our journalism. Why Rev360? Why now? 'As a whole, the project is crucial for supporting our journalism. Funding for independent media is getting harder and harder to come by,' explained Alet Law, head of audience development at Daily Maverick. 'There's always a need to innovate and find creative solutions to this challenge.' Unlike many media outlets that rely heavily on paywalls or advertising, Daily Maverick's financial model centres on voluntary contributions from our Maverick Insider community, which accounts for 40% of our revenue. This approach keeps our journalism free for everyone, relying on reader support to sustain our work. Rev360, developed with support from the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, is designed to optimise this award-winning membership model through AI-driven improvements at every stage of the engagement funnel and is fundamentally rooted in three pillars of reader revenue: acquisition, engagement and retention. 'We call it '360' because none of these pillars can, or should, exist in isolation,' said Fran Beighton, head of growth at Daily Maverick. 'Acquisition in membership only happens as a result of the impact of our journalism. If there's no impact, there's no impetus to support.' Optimised landing page Our current Maverick Insider landing page has a lower-than-average conversion rate. 'We've wanted to redesign the Maverick Insider landing page for a number of years and Rev360 has allowed us to finally do this,' said Julia Harris, head of reader revenue. 'We're testing the new page against our existing landing page and are making use of new analytics such as heatmaps to guide our decision-making,' said Harris. The goal is to launch a streamlined, user-friendly page by the end of May where AI-driven A/B testing and user analytics will allow us to continuously refine and personalise the experience for different campaigns and audiences. Otimising the landing page is critical to 'make it quicker and easier for people who have the intention of supporting by becoming members to complete their sign-up', Beighton added. Small changes can make a huge difference to conversion rates, and we're excited to see what the data reveals, Harris said. Daily Maverick Connect: Building a community 'Retention doesn't happen without engagement. Readers need to feel that they belong, that they are part of something significant,' Beighton said. Until now, readers could connect with us but not with each other. Recognising the need to foster stronger community engagement, Daily Maverick is launching Daily Maverick Connect, an online platform built on Discourse. 'For years, we at Daily Maverick have had the privilege of the support of these members – and not just their financial support: we've hired from this group; we've leaned on their expertise; we've even had event spaces donated; they've chosen our book covers […] with 'Daily Maverick Connect' we want to open this network up so that members can connect with each other,' Beighton said. It's imperative to understand that the one thing our Maverick Insiders share in common is that they're paying for a free service to ensure that those who can't afford to pay still have access to quality journalism. 'That's special. This community platform breaks down a barrier that will allow our members to truly become part of Daily Maverick, it's their platform.' Progress in action '[Working on Daily Maverick Connect] has been a deep learning curve,' said Law. 'Creating something from scratch means thinking about every detail – from technical aspects and user experience to content and communication,' both internally and externally, she said. The platform will initially only be available to Maverick Insiders, offering a space for members to connect, network and collaborate around shared interests. AI-powered tools will assist with content moderation and conversation analysis, helping maintain a positive environment and providing insights to improve user experience. 'We haven't put anything into practice yet, but I think I'm excited to see what comes of it,' said Law. The team aims to have the platform live by early July, with editorial staff joining soon after. 'Our hope for [Daily Maverick Connect] is that [our supporters] will derive genuine value from it, whether that's new business opportunities or just finding a like-minded padel partner or a new book club. Impact Framework: Measuring what matters The Impact Framework is Daily Maverick's new strategy to make impact the guiding principle of our journalism. By combining proactive planning before publication with robust post-publication tracking, it helps inform newsroom decisions, optimise resource allocation and build reader trust. At the heart of this framework is the Impact Engine, an AI-powered tool that analyses our articles and tracks their influence on public discourse, including references in parliamentary records. Alongside this, we're adopting new workflows to plan for impact intentionally and systematically track outcomes – ensuring every story's potential influence is considered from start to finish. What's next? As we enter the next phase, our focus is on scaling Rev360, sharing our learnings and refining each component based on real-world feedback. 'The support of JournalismAI has turned what was once only pipe dreams into reality,' said Beighton. We believe Rev360 can become a model for independent publishers worldwide — proof that with the right tools and support, even small newsrooms can lead the way in innovation. DM
Daily Maverick
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
They play politics. Joburg pays the price.
Johannesburg doesn't need a miracle. It needs YOU. Last week, Ferial Haffajee wrote an article highlighting the crisis and mismanagement of Johannesburg. Once the beating heart of the continent's economy, Joburg is now on life support and time is running out. Roads explode. Water stops flowing. Power vanishes without warning, separate from load shedding. And the people meant to fix it? They're too busy playing musical chairs in council chambers while the city crumbles outside the window. In 2023, the Auditor-General found that Johannesburg lost a staggering R21.8-billion to waste, irregular deals and unauthorised spending. That's more than a quarter of the city's budget. Gone. Not into infrastructure. Not into safety. Not into dignity. Gone into the fog of politics, mismanagement and corruption. And yet, silence. No uproar. No accountability. Because the one thing more absent than service delivery … is scrutiny. Everything good that is happening in Joburg, as Ferial listed, is the result of the stellar work of civil society and residents who care. The watchdogs are missing. Local journalism – the front line of accountability – has all but disappeared. Over the past 15 years, the journalism industry has shrunk by an estimated 70%. The worst hit? Local newsrooms. The very ones we need most. At the same time, service delivery failure has risen exponentially. See the correlation? We've got a plan. But we need your help. Daily Maverick wants to launch a dedicated Johannesburg bureau, staffed with a team of 10 journalists on the ground focused solely on this metro. They will be committed to exposing the rot, spotlighting solutions and making sure no councillor, contractor or city official escapes the consequences of their failures. Their stories will power a daily, free newsletter for residents, amplifying local issues on our national platform. This newsletter will remain free for everyone because, with the local government elections around the corner, anyone who has the right to vote should have access to the truth. Johannesburg doesn't need a miracle; it needs a microphone. Daily Maverick has a proven track record of exposing State Capture, shaking up national policy and holding the powerful to account. Now we're taking that fight to Joburg's front yard – because it's past time. Here's the deal: Despite the public service we provide, we receive no public funding. We need the business community and the public, who understand that our standard of journalism translates into impact and accountability, to support us in this effort. We need 2,800 of you, our readers who care about Joburg's future, to become Maverick Insider members. Your monthly or annual contributions will go directly to paying the salaries of the journalists at this bureau. If that happens, we'll be able to open the bureau in a month. It's your choice how much you want to contribute (we suggest R200/month because it works out to about the cost of a cup of coffee a week…). Not a lot, but collectively it's enough. If you're a business owner in Joburg and want to see the city thrive (and receive the kudos for being part of that), you can get in contact with us below.
Daily Maverick
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Watch – Cape Town's accusation collision: JP Smith, gang boss accused Ralph Stanfield and the cops
A raid on Cape Town's city offices, a high-stakes investigation, and political accusations. Is it a criminal probe or a political attack? At the heart: murders with suspected ties to the notorious 28s gang. Daily Maverick's Caryn Dolley explains. Reporting by: Caryn Dolley Produced by: Emilie Gambade Edited by: Rufaro Chiswo Filmed by: Bernard Kotze Sub-edited by: Caspar Greeff Caryn Dolley is an award-winning journalist and author. She has covered organised crime in South Africa for nearly two decades, exposing how the country fits into the global criminal landscape, how gangsters appear to have infiltrated aspects of private security, and how politics, rogue intelligence, and state corruption are infused in these noxious arenas. Despite threats to her safety, she remains committed to uncovering the truth and bringing it to the public. Support journalism that protects democracy. Become a Maverick Insider.
