Blank Spot

What Blank Spot does

Blank Spot Project (Blankspot) is a Stockholm-based, reader-funded independent journalism organization founded in 2015 by Brit Stakston and Martin Schibbye. It operates a digital-only publication, Blankspot.se, producing long-form reportage, analysis, and news from underreported regions of the world (Eritrea, South Caucasus, North Korea, Liberia, among others) and on Swedish democratic and media-policy topics. The platform is ad-free, has no paywall, and receives no government media subsidies; financing comes entirely from one-time Swish donations, recurring monthly or annual memberships through Donorbox, and targeted corporate partnerships. A podcast (Blankspotpodden) distributed on YouTube and Spotify, a weekly Friday email newsletter, and an active presence across Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram extend the brand beyond the website. The organization also runs a national school outreach program in which editorial staff visit classrooms before international reporting trips.

Blankspot's core team consists of three permanent staff — CEO Brit Stakston, Editor-in-Chief Martin Schibbye, and reporter Rasmus Canbäck — supplemented by occasional freelance contributors such as Josephine Forthmann and Emma Gate. The organization is registered in Sweden as a nonprofit (Blank Spot Project, organization number 559002-4617) and has no parent company, venture capital, or institutional backers. Its technology stack is conventional: a WordPress-based publishing site, Donorbox for recurring payments, Swish for one-time mobile donations, Mailchimp for newsletter distribution, and standard social media platforms. No proprietary technology, AI capabilities, patents, or APIs are disclosed.

Blankspot's business model is community-led: readers are encouraged to donate, subscribe to the newsletter, share content organically, and become corporate partners. Go-to-market relies on earned media through award-winning journalism, organic social, public speaking at forums such as Almedalsveckan, and educational outreach. The outlet has accumulated multiple industry awards including Stora Journalistpriset (2015 and 2022), Tidskriftspriset (2020), the Anna Lindhs organisationspris (2026), and a 2026 Red Cross Journalism Prize nomination, building strong brand recognition within the Swedish media landscape but operating without scale metrics typical of venture-backed media businesses.

Name

Blank Spot

Legal name

Blank Spot Project

Website

https://blankspot.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blank Spot (Blankspot) is a Stockholm-based, reader-funded nonprofit journalism platform founded in 2015 that publishes ad-free long-form reportage from underreported global regions for Swedish-speaking news consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Digital Journalism

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

akta.pro primary industry

Long-Form Writing & Article Platforms (MPACAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Reader Community, Serialization & Monetization Platforms (Web fiction, Subscriptions) (MPAJAJAM)

Keywords

• Long-form journalism
• Investigative reporting
• Reader-funded media
• Independent digital journalism
• International reportage

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Reader Donations / Membership: Blankspot is financed entirely by its readers through one-time Swish donations, monthly subscriptions, and annual memberships. There are no ads, no paywalls, and no government media support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blank Spot operates Blankspot.se, an ad-free, paywall-free, reader-funded digital platform that publishes long-form journalism, analysis, and reportage focused on underreported international regions and topics for Swedish-speaking audiences. The core editorial output is organized into Nyheter (News), Analys (Analysis), and Reportage categories, with supporting offerings including a weekly Friday newsletter, an independently edited podcast (Blankspotpodden), and a donation-based membership program.

Product overview

Blank Spot is a crowdfunded, ad-free, digital-only journalism platform founded in 2015, publishing long-form reporting from overlooked regions and stories worldwide. The core product is Blankspot.se, which offers editorial content across three main categories: Nyheter (News), Analys (Analysis), and Reportage. The platform is supplemented by Blankspotpodden (a podcast operating independently from Blankspot.se's editorial decisions), a weekly Friday newsletter, and a reader-funded donation/membership program via Donorbox and Swish. The organization also conducts school education projects where reporters engage with students before international reporting trips.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Blankspot.se Digital Journalism Platform A crowdfunded, ad-free, paywall-free digital publishing platform that delivers long-form journalism, analysis, and reportage from underreported international regions and topics to Swedish-speaking readers. Content is organized into Nyheter (News), Analys (Analysis), and Reportage categories and is freely accessible globally.
• Blankspotpodden Podcast

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of thousands of articles published; books produced; exhibitions curated; school programs conducted since 2015

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Kvinna till KvinnaminorOthersKvinna till Kvinna has been referenced as a key donor partner supporting women's rights organizations in Liberia, some of which have been featured in Blankspot's reporting on Sweden's aid policy. While mentioned as a funding source for civil society organizations covered by Blankspot, the relationship is journalistic rather than a formal commercial partnership.
• ActionAid (via JEC-project)minorOthersActionAid's Just and Equal Communities (JEC) project in Liberia, co-funded by Swedish aid and covered by Blankspot's reporting on Sweden's withdrawal from development aid to Liberia. The relationship is editorial/journalistic coverage rather than a formal institutional partnership.
• West Point for Women's Health and DevelopmentminorOthersA Liberian women's organization supported by Swedish aid through Kvinna till Kvinna. Blankspot reported on this organization in its coverage of Sweden's withdrawal of development aid to Liberia. The organization helped survivor Ruth Peal. Again, the relationship is journalistic coverage rather than a formal partnership.
• Wikimedia Sverige (Wikimedia Sweden)minorOthersBrit Stakston participated in a Wikimedia Sverige-hosted panel at Almedalsveckan 2026 titled 'Är alla lika i informationssamhället?' (Are all equal in the information society?) on digital accessibility. This represents a conference collaboration, not a formal organizational partnership.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• The Intercept: Reader- and donation-supported nonprofit investigative outlet covering underreported and adversarial topics, comparable in mission and independence to Blankspot.
• Bellingcat: Donation- and grant-funded independent investigative journalism collective covering underreported conflict and geopolitical topics, overlapping Blankspot's focus areas and funding approach.
• Tortoise Media: UK member-supported 'slow news' outlet emphasizing long-form, non-simplified reporting, comparable to Blankspot's depth-over-speed editorial philosophy.

Direct peers

• Mediapart: French subscription-funded independent investigative outlet with no advertising, comparable to Blankspot's ad-free, reader-financed investigative journalism.
• De Correspondent: Dutch membership-funded platform for constructive, long-form journalism free of ads, closely aligned with Blankspot's crowdfunded independent model.
• Republik: Swiss reader-financed, ad-free digital magazine producing long-form investigative journalism, directly comparable in business model and editorial ambition.
• Krautreporter: German reader-funded, ad-free long-form journalism cooperative, sharing Blankspot's membership monetization and editorial-independence positioning.
• Zetland: Danish member-funded, ad-free digital outlet focused on in-depth long-form journalism, mirroring Blankspot's reader-supported, subscription-driven Nordic model.

Others

• Blankspot's Blankspotpodden-adjacent Kontext: Swedish independent media initiatives serving niche, values-driven readerships; thematically adjacent to Blankspot but with weaker direct overlap.

Regional players

• Dagens ETC: Swedish independent, subscription-supported news outlet competing for the same Swedish-speaking audience seeking journalism outside mainstream commercial media.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blanksp_t
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCbY_BwlZO1x7ZoMvqySzOvQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/blankspt
• Instagraminstagram.com/blankspotproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Blank Spot