New Frame

What New Frame does

New Frame is a not-for-profit digital media publication founded in 2018 and headquartered in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa. The organization produces independent journalism focused on pro-poor and pro-working class perspectives, covering South African and African politics, current affairs, culture, sport, and social justice issues including housing rights, labor struggles, and gender-based violence. Editorial decisions are made independently by editors in conjunction with reporters and photographers under a stated "chasing quality, not clicks" philosophy, and the publication adheres to the Code of Ethics and Conduct for South African Print and Online Media.

The product surface spans multiple content formats: written news articles, features and editorial pieces, the Radio New Frame podcast series (now in its eighth season), and documentary-style video content. All material is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, allowing other media outlets to republish New Frame content free of charge. Distribution is digital-first via newframe.com on a standard web-based content management system, supplemented by social media channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram), a weekly email newsletter, and multimedia. The publication has no dedicated mobile app and no disclosed APIs or integrations.

New Frame's business model is funded entirely by reader donations and voluntary subscriptions; it accepts no advertising, corporate sponsorship, or paid content tiers, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The organization operates with a core team of approximately 25-30 staff spanning editors, journalists, photojournalists, illustrators, podcast producers, and administrative support, supplemented by a network of freelance writers and photographers. The primary customer segment is general readers seeking independent journalism on social justice topics in South Africa and Africa, with a secondary segment comprising other media publications that republish content under the Creative Commons licence.

Name

New Frame

Legal name

New Frame

Website

https://newframe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

New Frame is a Johannesburg-based not-for-profit digital media publication founded in 2018 that produces independent journalism on South African and African politics, culture, and social justice, funded by reader donations and distributed via website, podcast, video, and Creative Commons licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online News Publication

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Online news publication
• Independent journalism
• Social justice media
• Creative commons content
• Digital news platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Subscriptions: Not-for-profit publication funded through reader donations and subscriptions. No advertising or corporate sponsorship. Content published under Creative Commons license allowing republication by other publications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

New Frame is a not-for-profit online media publication that produces pro-poor and pro-working class journalism covering South African and African politics, culture, sport, and social justice issues. It publishes news articles, features, podcasts (Radio New Frame), and video content under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, funded by reader donations and voluntary subscriptions without advertising.

Product overview

New Frame is a single not-for-profit social justice media publication offering journalism across multiple content formats including news articles, features, editorial and analysis, podcasts (Radio New Frame), and video content. The publication covers topics including South African politics, culture, sport, and social issues, with content published under a Creative Commons licence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Frame Online Publication A not-for-profit, social justice media publication providing news, features, analysis, podcasts, and video content focused on South African and African affairs. Content is published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence and freely accessible without a paywall.
• Radio New Frame Podcast A podcast series covering social, political, and cultural topics related to South Africa and Africa, hosted by the publication's editors and producers with episodes featuring interviews and discussions.
• New Frame Video Content Video articles and documentary-style content covering various social and political topics, produced for the publication's audience and distributed through the website.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Africa Is a Country: Independent digital publication covering politics, culture, and critical analysis across the African continent. Comparable to New Frame as an independent, opinion- and analysis-driven digital outlet covering African social and political issues with a lean editorial operation.
• GroundUp: South African non-profit news agency focused on human rights stories and marginalized communities, funded primarily through donations. Closely mirrors New Frame's non-profit, donor-supported model and pro-poor editorial focus on working-class and poor communities.
• Daily Maverick: South Africa's leading independent digital news outlet covering politics, society, and investigative journalism. Directly comparable to New Frame as a digitally native, editorially independent South African publication competing for the same audience of engaged, civic-minded readers.
• Spotlight: South African non-profit investigative health journalism outlet. Comparable to New Frame as a South African non-profit, donor-supported digital news publication operating in a defined thematic beat with editorial independence.
• Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism: South African non-profit health journalism outlet focused on social justice health reporting. Comparable to New Frame as a South African non-profit, donor-supported, editorially independent digital publication pursuing impact-driven journalism in a defined social beat.
• amaBhungane: South African investigative journalism non-profit focused on accountability reporting on power and corruption. Comparable to New Frame as a South African non-profit, donor-funded investigative outlet with editorial independence and a focus on undercovered social and political issues.
• Open Secrets: South African non-profit focused on investigating economic crime and illicit finance. Comparable to New Frame as a small South African non-profit journalism organization operating with donor funding and editorial independence on accountability-focused coverage.
• The Continent: African continental weekly newsletter covering politics, society, and culture across the continent. Comparable to New Frame as an independent African digital publication focused on underreported stories, with a similar lean team and digital-first distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• News24: South Africa's largest digital news site, part of Media24. Comparable to New Frame as a major South African digital news destination, though operates at significantly larger scale with commercial funding and broader editorial scope rather than a non-profit donor-supported model.
• Mail & Guardian: Long-established South African weekly newspaper with strong investigative journalism tradition and digital presence. Comparable to New Frame as a South African news publication covering politics and social issues, though it operates at much larger scale and broader editorial scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NewFrame_News
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewFrameNews
• Instagraminstagram.com/newframenews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New Frame