Blankspot was co-founded in 2015 by Swedish journalist Martin Schibbye. In 2011, he was shot and arrested while reporting in Ethiopia. Once he was released from jail and returned to Sweden, he witnessed a "crisis in journalism"; his acquaintances told him nobody was willing to pay for journalism any longer.Schibbye and some colleagues set out to disprove this statement by initiating a platform focused on publishing long-form journalism on underreported topics. Blankspot's goal is to narrate the stories that otherwise do not get told, turning its readership's attention to the "overlooked outposts of the world".A crowdfunding campaign gave the founders the necessary means to build the website and cover the media's "blank spots".Blankspot is innovative regarding regions and angles covered, as well as its storytelling techniques. The platform has been a pioneer in engaging and cooperating with the public, who, as Schibbye says, "always knows more than we do".

Last updated date: April 2025

Source: Oasis Europe

Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Year the organization started publishing:
2015
Languages:
No information available
Type of coverage:
International
Countries of coverage:
Albania
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Malta
Norway
Poland
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Belarus
Ukraine

Content

Type of content produced by theme:
Environment
Society and human rights
Refugees
Migration
War crimes and transitional justice
Journalism genres:
Interviews and reporting
Investigative journalism
Narrative journalism
Journalism coverage types and techniques:
Breaking news
Live coverage of events
Crowdsourcing
Engaged, community-driven or participatory journalism
Cross-border journalism
Collaborative journalism
Tech platforms and other mediums used:
Website
Newsletter
Social media platforms
Podcast
Print
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Primary tech platform or medium used to publish content:
Website

Audience and reach

Social media audience

Facebook number of followers:
26,000
Twitter number of followers:
5,453
Instagram number of followers:
4,646
YouTube number of followers:
382

Management and team

Founders

Female:
1
Male:
1
Founders:
Martin Schibbye, Brit Stakston
Directors:
Martin Schibbye, Brit Stakston

Team

Full-time employees:
0
Part-time employees:
0
Freelancers or consultants:
5
Volunteers:
0

Business structure and revenue sources

Organization tax status:
Hybrid model (more than one nonprofit or for-profit)
All revenue sources reported by media leaders:
Grants
Consultancy services
Content services for others
Audience support / reader revenue
Other
Grants from private donor organisations
Grants or investment from philanthropic organisations
Grants from local and national government, and other connected governmental institutions or entities
Services for nonprofit organisations
Training services for journalists
Training services for other clients
Content development for other media
Memberships
Crowdfunding campaigns
Individual donations
Event ticket sales
The primary source of revenue reported by media leaders:
Memberships
The second most important revenue source reported:
Crowdfunding campaigns
Others revenue sources:
Book sales

Transparency

Publishes information about annual revenue
Doesn’t publish the names of donors
Has an ethics policy / manual
Publishes an ethics policy / manual
Has a data privacy policy
Publishes a data privacy policy
Doesn’t have a whistleblower policy
Doesn’t have a complaints policy
Has a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Doesn’t publish a sexual harassment or institutional violence policy
Is signed up to a press regulator, trust initiative, or part of a press association
Publishes up to date information about its team
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