PressOne Media
PressOne Media is an independent Romanian online publication producing investigative journalism, newsletters, and podcasts for Romanian readers seeking quality independent media, funded through a mix of grants, reader subscriptions, and advertising.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBucurești, Romania
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What PressOne Media does
PressOne Media is an independent Romanian online publication that operates through a dual-entity structure: Press One Media SRL handles advertising and commercial contracts, while Fundația PressOne (the NGO) owns the website, brand, and editorial activity. Founded in Cluj-Napoca in September 2015 by American Don Lothrop, who invested over $1M between 2015-2020, the publication has since transitioned to newsroom ownership through a 2023 stake transfer to the editorial team. PressOne produces investigative journalism, opinion pieces, and multimedia content across categories including news, environment, lifestyle, cities, history, and international topics, with an English-language section for international audiences.
The core product is the pressone.ro website, supplemented by four newsletters (Revista Presei, Viața Bună, Migrapop, Mai Bine) hosted on Substack, two podcast series (Colecționarul de Istorie and Sub Radar), a quarterly digital magazine featuring contemporary Romanian writers, and topical projects like Project F (reproductive health investigations). The platform supports distribution across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, reaching Romanian readers seeking trustworthy, in-depth journalism. PressOne is the first Romanian-language publication certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative from Reporters Without Borders, audited by Deloitte in May 2024.
The revenue mix is hybrid: 60.2% of 2023 revenue (296,764 EUR combined) came from grants (Civitates Foundation, TEFI consortium, USAID via Prague Civil Society Centre, Centro per la Cooperazione Internazionale, Energy 4 Future consortium), with the remainder from approximately 1,100 recurring reader supporters (3-5 EUR monthly subscriptions), 220 tax-redirecting donors (3.5% income tax or 20% profit tax), and advertising/sponsorship contracts through the SRL. The team consists of 10 journalists (4 male, 6 female) plus a pool of at least 12 collaborators, distributed across Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. Recent leadership transition placed Laura Popa as Editor-in-Chief in early 2026, succeeding Alex Olaru.
PressOne Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PressOne Media
- Legal name
- Press One Media SRL
- Website
- https://pressone.ro
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PressOne Media is an independent Romanian online publication producing investigative journalism, newsletters, and podcasts for Romanian readers seeking quality independent media, funded through a mix of grants, reader subscriptions, and advertising.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PressOne Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Independent Online Journalism
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF), Politics, Current Affairs & Social Commentary Publishing (MPAJAAAM)
Keywords
Where PressOne Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- București
- HQ country
- Romania
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
PressOne Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grants: EU and international foundation grants for journalism projects, including Civitates (Central/Eastern Europe media support), TEFI consortium (Eastern Frontier Initiative with European funds), Centro per la Cooperazione Internazionale (vegetation fires coverage), USAID via Prague Civil Society Centre (web platform development), Energy 4 Future consortium (energy infrastructure investigation)
- Reader Donations: Monthly subscriptions (3-5 EUR), one-time donations, and approximately 1,100 regular supporters
- Tax Redirection: 3.5% from income tax or 20% from profit tax redirected by approximately 220 readers
- Advertising and Sponsorships: Commercial contracts through Press One Media SRL for advertising and sponsored content, with participation in Ethical Media Alliance
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | SMS Monthly Support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Monthly Subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Monthly Subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
PressOne Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PressOne is an independent Romanian online publication that produces and distributes investigative journalism, opinion pieces, multimedia content (podcasts, video), and curated newsletters. Its core offerings include the pressone.ro website, four daily Substack-hosted newsletters, two podcast series, a quarterly digital magazine, and topic-specific editorial projects (e.g., Project F on reproductive health). The publication supports itself through reader donations, recurring subscriptions, SMS support, advertising, and grants from EU and international foundations.
Product overview
PressOne Media is an independent Romanian online publication offering a unified news platform with multiple content channels. The core offering is the PressOne Website, an investigative journalism platform covering news, opinions, environment, lifestyle, cities, history, and international topics. Supporting the main platform are newsletter aggregation services (Revista Presei, Viața Bună, Migrapop, Mai Bine), specialty podcast series (Colecționarul de Istorie for history, Sub Radar for interviews), Project F for special investigative series, and an English Section for international audiences. The publication operates as a dual-entity structure: the website is owned by Fundația PressOne (NGO) while commercial operations run through PressOne Media SRL.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PressOne Website (pressone.ro) The flagship online news publication (pressone.ro) featuring investigative journalism, news articles, opinion pieces, and multimedia content across categories including news, environment, lifestyle, cities, history, and international coverage. Targeted at Romanian readers seeking independent journalism.
- PressOne Newsletters (Revista Presei, Viața Bună, Migrapop, Mai Bine) Daily newsletter aggregation services hosted on Substack: Revista Presei (daily press review), Viața Bună (Good Life), Migrapop (for diaspora), and Mai Bine (Better). Each aggregating and curating quality journalism for Romanian readers.
- Colecționarul de Istorie (Podcast) History podcast series featuring historian Andrei Pogăciaș discussing Romanian and European history topics with invited authors and experts; published on the PressOne YouTube channel.
- Sub Radar (Podcast) In-depth interview podcast series on topics including sports, politics, and society, published on the PressOne YouTube channel.
- Project F (Special Investigative Series) Special multi-article investigative project series hosted on pressone.ro, with the current cycle focused on reproductive health and fertility, including FIV/IVF investigations.
- English Section English-language content section on pressone.ro featuring translated and original articles covering Romanian and international news, geared toward non-Romanian-speaking readers and the diaspora.
- Revista Digitală Trimestrială (Quarterly Digital Magazine) Quarterly digital magazine distributed by PressOne featuring contributions from major contemporary Romanian writers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 296,764 EUR revenue in 2023 with 60.2% from grants
Companies that use PressOne Media
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
PressOne Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
PressOne Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- TEFI Consortium (Eastern Frontier Initiative)coreFirst EU funding for PressOne as part of editorial consortium with 444 (Hungary), Bellingcat (Netherlands), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), and SME (Slovakia). Producing text and audiovisual content on Central/Eastern European security issues from Romanian perspective over two-year period.
- Energy 4 Future ConsortiumminorEU-funded consortium with Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa investigating how European funds were spent on Romanian energy infrastructure projects.
- Ethical Media AllianceminorAlliance enabling funding from major companies that understand supporting independent media contributes to democratic environment benefiting business predictability.
- Domeniile DavidescuminorOfficial suppliers of Romanian Royal House, providing wine for Colecționarul de Istorie podcast recordings.
- Server ConfigminorIT equipment sponsor for podcast, offering refurbished Dell/HP/Lenovo products with 24+ month warranties for business customers.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
PressOne Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gazeta Wyborcza: Major Polish independent newspaper and PressOne's TEFI consortium partner. Directly comparable as a JTI-relevant, mission-driven, grant-and-subscription-funded investigative publication operating in a neighboring Central European market.
- Bellingcat: Dutch open-source investigative journalism outlet and TEFI consortium partner alongside PressOne. Comparable as a nonprofit, grant-funded, internationally coordinated investigative newsroom producing cross-border investigations.
- Kiev Independent: Ukrainian English-language independent news outlet launched in 2021, heavily grant-funded by Western foundations. Directly comparable to PressOne as an Eastern European independent outlet dependent on Western philanthropic capital for sustainability.
- 444 (Hungary): Hungarian independent online publication and TEFI consortium partner alongside PressOne. Directly comparable as a Central European independent investigative outlet supported by Western grants and reader subscriptions.
- The Markup: US-based nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on technology and society, funded by major foundations (Knight, Arnold). Highly comparable funding and operating model to PressOne: philanthropy-backed independent investigative journalism.
- Recorder.ro: Romanian independent investigative journalism outlet funded by reader donations and grants. Directly comparable to PressOne as a nonprofit-model investigative publication operating in the same Romanian market with similar funding mechanisms (donations, grants, no paywall aggressive enforcement).
- El Diario España: Spanish independent digital newspaper with a large reader-membership base (socios) and minimal advertising. Closely mirrors PressOne's reader-funded nonprofit model at significantly larger scale.
- Republica.ro: Romanian independent online publication covering politics and society, supported by reader subscriptions. Comparable audience, mission, and D2C subscription model to PressOne.
- Decât o Revistă (DoR): Romanian independent long-form journalism and storytelling publication operating on a reader-supported membership model. Closely comparable in mission, funding approach, and product format (quarterly magazine + digital) to PressOne.
Broad incumbents
- Hotnews.ro: One of Romania's largest mainstream online news outlets with a broad newsroom. Comparable in product (online news) and audience (Romanian general public), though it operates at significantly larger scale and commercial focus rather than independent/nonprofit model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PressOne Media social profiles
Digital presencePressOne Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PressOne Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
PressOne Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PressOne Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PressOne Media
What does PressOne Media do?
PressOne is an independent Romanian online publication that produces and distributes investigative journalism, opinion pieces, multimedia content (podcasts, video), and curated newsletters. Its core offerings include the pressone.ro website, four daily Substack-hosted newsletters, two podcast series, a quarterly digital magazine, and topic-specific editorial projects (e.g., Project F on reproductive health). The publication supports itself through reader donations, recurring subscriptions, SMS support, advertising, and grants from EU and international foundations.
Is PressOne Media a public or private company?
PressOne Media is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was PressOne Media founded?
PressOne Media was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PressOne Media based?
PressOne Media is headquartered in București, Romania, in the Europe region.
How does PressOne Media make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Grants are the primary driver. The others are reader Donations, tax Redirection and advertising and Sponsorships.
Who are PressOne Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gazeta Wyborcza, Bellingcat, Kiev Independent, 444 (Hungary), The Markup, Recorder.ro, El Diario España, Republica.ro and Decât o Revistă (DoR). Hotnews.ro is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does PressOne Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for PressOne Media.
What industry is PressOne Media in?
PressOne Media's product category is Independent Online Journalism. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAH, Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press, with a secondary code of MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.