Reporter ohne Grenzen

What Reporter ohne Grenzen does

Reporter ohne Grenzen is the Berlin-headquartered German section of Reporters sans frontières (RSF), a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein e. V., VR 15012 Nz, AG Berlin Charlottenburg) founded in 1994. The organization defends press freedom worldwide, serving at-risk journalists through emergency assistance, legal advocacy, exile support, and public campaigns, and serves individual supporters, members, and the broader public through information products and engagement platforms. Its primary outputs are research publications - the annual Rangliste der Pressefreiheit (Press Freedom Index) ranking 180 countries, now in its 25th year, and the real-time Barometer der Pressefreiheit tracking journalists killed (18), imprisoned (488), kidnapped (26), and missing (142) - alongside petitions, campaigns, a press distribution list segmented by region, a newsletter, podcast, photo books, the Minecraft-based Uncensored Library for censored journalism, and the annual RSF Press Freedom Prize.

Revenue is generated almost entirely from individual donations, memberships (Vereins- und Fördermitgliedschaft), recurring monthly donations (Dauerspende from 15 Euro), merchandise sales via Spreadshirt, and crowdfunding campaigns such as Social-Kaffee. Payment processing relies on third-party integrations including PayPal, Sofortüberweisung, Micropayment, and Limeflavour, while email delivery runs on CleverReach and web analytics on Piwik PRO hosted on Microsoft Azure Germany. The organization holds official Beraterstatus at the Council of Europe, the UN Human Rights Council, and UNESCO, and maintains a broad coalition of strategic partners including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, IMS, Deutsche Welle, OSCE, and Netzwerk Recherche.

There is no proprietary technology platform or software product; the digital stack is an engagement and distribution layer, and the website is the primary channel for donations, membership sign-ups, petitions, merchandise, and information dissemination. Customer-facing products are not software-as-a-service but advocacy services, research publications, and engagement platforms; the addressable "customer" base is two-sided - at-risk journalists as beneficiaries, and individual donors/members as the funding base - with no enterprise or grant-anchor customer disclosed.

Name

Reporter ohne Grenzen

Legal name

Reporter ohne Grenzen e. V.

Website

https://reporter-ohne-grenzen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Reporter ohne Grenzen is the Berlin-based German section of Reporters sans frontières, founded in 1994, that defends press freedom globally through the annual Press Freedom Index, journalist support and legal advocacy, and donation-funded campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Press Freedom Advocacy

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Relations & Press Office Services (MPAAADAI)

Keywords

• Press freedom advocacy
• Journalist protection services
• Press freedom research
• Human rights advocacy
• Civil society campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: Primary revenue stream from member fees (Vereins- und Fördermitgliedschaft) and one-time or recurring donations (Dauerspende). Supporters can donate monthly starting from 15 Euro and receive merchandise as a thank-you gift.
2. Shop Sales: Sale of merchandise including clothing, tote bags, coffee (Social-Kaffee), and photo books through the organization's online shop.
3. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Special fundraising campaigns such as 'Social-Kaffee' crowdfunding initiative to generate support for press freedom activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Reporter ohne Grenzen is the German section of Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and operates as a nonprofit advocacy organization defending press freedom worldwide. Its core activities include publishing the annual Rangliste der Pressefreiheit (Press Freedom Index) covering 180 countries, maintaining the Barometer der Pressefreiheit that tracks journalists killed, imprisoned, kidnapped, and missing, providing emergency and legal support for journalists at risk, conducting political advocacy at European and UN institutions, and running public campaigns and petitions.

Product overview

Reporter ohne Grenzen is a non-governmental organization dedicated to defending and promoting press freedom worldwide. Rather than a unified software product, its offerings consist of advocacy services, research publications, and engagement platforms. Core offerings include the annual Press Freedom Ranking (Rangliste der Pressefreiheit) covering 180 countries and the real-time Press Freedom Barometer tracking journalists at risk. Direct services encompass emergency and legal support for journalists, political advocacy, and campaign/petition tools. Communication products include a newsletter and thematic press distribution list (Presseverteiler). Digital projects include the Uncensored Library—a Minecraft-based virtual library for censored journalism. Revenue-generating activities include merchandise (Social-Kaffee coffee campaign, clothing via Spreadshirt) and membership/donation programs. The organization does not offer a software-as-a-service product but operates its website as an engagement and distribution platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rangliste der Pressefreiheit (Press Freedom Ranking)
• Barometer der Pressefreiheit (Press Freedom Barometer)
• Unterstützung für Journalist*innen (Support for Journalists)
• Politische Arbeit (Political Advocacy)
• Petitionen und Kampagnen (Petitions and Campaigns)
• Uncensored Library
• Social-Kaffee (Social Coffee)
• RSF-Preis für Pressefreiheit (RSF Press Freedom Award)

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual ranking of 180 countries on Press Freedom Index
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Deutsche WellemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2015Co-organizer of Global Media Forum; collaboration on international media development and press freedom advocacy.
• OSZE (OSCE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2015International security organization with media freedom mandate; RSF collaborates on impunity and journalist protection issues.
• International Media Support (IMS)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2015Collaboration on media support programs and advocacy for journalists in countries like Azerbaijan facing press freedom restrictions.
• Sport for Rights CampaignminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2015Joint campaign focusing on human rights and press freedom concerns around sporting events in authoritarian countries.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen (DGVN)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2015German UN society; co-organizer of Internet Governance Forum Deutschland addressing digital rights and press freedom online.
• Collaboratory e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2015Civic tech organization; partner in Internet Governance Forum for digital policy and press freedom discussions.
• youthpartminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2015Youth participation organization; partner in Internet Governance Forum for engaging young people in digital policy.
• Salon Karl-Marx-BuchhandlungminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2015Berlin bookshop; co-host of Sunday matinee events and book presentations on press freedom.
• European ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2014Civil society network for dialogue on European issues including media freedom and propaganda.
• EU-Russia Civil Society ForumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2014Platform for civil society cooperation addressing media freedom issues between EU and Russia.
• n-ost (Netzwerk für Osteuropaberichterstattung)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2014Network for Eastern European reporting and media freedom advocacy.
• Deutsch-Russischer AustauschminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2014German-Russian exchange organization for civil society dialogue on media and press issues.
• Hertie School of GovernanceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2014Policy university; co-organizer of data protection and right to be forgotten discussion.
• Bundeszentrale für politische BildungminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2014German federal agency for political education; joint event on NSA surveillance.
• Friedrich-Naumann-StiftungmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2014Liberal German political foundation co-organizing events and panels on press freedom in Iran and other countries.
• Human Rights WatchmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2014Joint press conferences and advocacy work on press freedom and human rights issues, including repression of journalists in Azerbaijan.
• Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2014International media development organization; joint press conferences on media freedom in conflict regions like South Sudan.
• Digitalcourage e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2014Digital rights organization; co-campaign calling on German government to hold surveillance firms accountable.
• European Center for Constitutional and European Rights (ECCHR)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2014Legal organization; joint campaign on surveillance firm accountability.
• Wau Holland StiftungminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2014German hacker foundation; joint panel discussion on NSA surveillance consequences.
• Amnesty InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2014Major international human rights organization; joint actions including BNÜberwachung press conferences and panel discussions.
• Europarat (Council of Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReporter ohne Grenzen holds official consultative status (Beraterstatus) with the Council of Europe, enabling direct advocacy at European institutional level for press freedom protections.
• Vereinte Nationen / UN MenschenrechtsratcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsultative status with the UN Human Rights Council allows RSF to participate in international human rights mechanisms and submit reports on press freedom violations.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial consultative partner status with UNESCO for promotion and protection of press freedom and freedom of information globally.
• Netzwerk RecherchemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman network of investigative journalists; annual conferences and professional development for journalism.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Access Now: International digital rights NGO defending online free expression and opposing internet censorship. Comparable in the digital press-freedom and surveillance-policy advocacy space where RSF increasingly operates.
• PEN International: Global literary and free-expression organization running the Writers in Prison Committee and advocacy campaigns. Overlaps with RSF on free-expression cases for journalists and writers, particularly in authoritarian contexts.

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights research and advocacy organization with significant press-freedom work. Overlaps with RSF on cases like Azerbaijan and on country reporting, but covers a much wider rights portfolio.
• Amnesty International: Largest global human rights NGO with a press-freedom portfolio inside a broader mandate. RSF has formal joint-campaign partnerships with Amnesty (e.g., surveillance accountability) but Amnesty is a broad incumbent rather than a focused competitor.

Direct peers

• ARTICLE 19: London-headquartered NGO focused on freedom of expression and information globally. Comparable in legal advocacy, country monitoring, and policy work on surveillance and free speech issues overlapping with RSF's mandate.
• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ): New York-based nonprofit that documents press freedom violations, advocates for jailed journalists, and publishes an annual Impunity Index. Directly comparable in advocacy, research publications, and emergency-assistance mandate.
• International Press Institute (IPI): Vienna-based global press freedom network of editors, publishers, and journalists. Comparable in press freedom monitoring, advocacy, and journalist-safety initiatives, with overlap on European institutional access.
• International Federation of Journalists (IFJ): Brussels-headquartered global federation of journalists' unions. Comparable in journalist safety programs, press freedom advocacy, and emergency support for media workers, though operating through union membership rather than individual donors.
• Index on Censorship: UK-based nonprofit that publishes a quarterly magazine documenting free-expression violations and runs advocacy programs. Directly comparable as a publishing and advocacy NGO with similar content products and country monitoring.
• Reporters sans frontières (RSF): Parent international organization headquartered in Paris that founded the press-freedom NGO movement in 1985. Reporter ohne Grenzen is the German national section of RSF, sharing mission, methodology, and global advocacy priorities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/reporterog
• Facebookfacebook.com/reporterohnegrenzen

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Reporter ohne Grenzen