Slow News

What Slow News does

Slow News StP Srl is an Italian reader-supported slow journalism platform founded in 2015 and headquartered in Milan. It produces advertising-free investigative and long-form reporting across more than 40 active editorial series on topics including European cohesion policy, climate, migration, war, neurodivergence, and urbanism. Its product portfolio is multi-format: the slow-news.com website, four weekly Substack newsletters (Slowly podcast digest, Atipiche on ADHD/neurodivergence, The Slow Journalist on media analysis, Cose che restano for Sunday reading), the Piano annual monochromatic print magazine screen-printed by Legno di Milano, the Entangled science-fiction graphic novel, the Favole dal Mondo Nuovo stop-motion children's series, the Slow News: Il Film documentary, the AI@Work course on Thinkific, and translated handbooks (Verification Handbook 3, Membership Guide). All content is released under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0.

The company's business model is membership-driven and explicitly rejects advertising. Revenue comes from three annual subscription tiers (€29, €49, €99), one-time print and digital product sales (Entangled at €15, Piano copies, Vimeo documentary rentals), live event sales (Slow News Days), the AI@Work course, and project-based co-financing — most notably the European Union's co-financing of the A Brave New Europe multi-year partnership with Internazionale, Radio Popolare, Zai.net, Percorsi di Secondo Welfare, and La Revue Dessinée Italia. IK Produzioni is the core production partner across documentary, animation, and graphic novel outputs. Go-to-market is community-led: direct reader support via website membership enrollment, Substack newsletters, festival/event presence, and partner network co-publishing. The customer base is a long tail of individual civic-minded readers, educators, families, and journalism professionals across Italy (and, via documentary distribution and Substack, internationally). The operation is lean at approximately 10 employees, with editorial leadership concentrated in co-founders Andrea Coccia, Alberto Puliafito, and Fulvio Nebbia, alongside co-founder/editor Andrea Spinelli Barrile.

Name

Slow News

Legal name

Slow News StP Srl

Website

https://slow-news.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Slow News is an Italian, reader-supported slow journalism platform founded in 2015, producing advertising-free investigative reporting via a website, Substack newsletters, a print magazine, graphic novels, podcasts, and a documentary, funded by €29–€99 annual memberships and EU project co-financing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Journalism & Media Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Slow journalism platform
• Independent investigative media
• Reader-supported journalism
• Community-funded newsroom
• Media literacy publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership / Subscription Revenue: Annual recurring membership subscriptions at three tiers (€29, €49, €99 per year) providing access to Piano magazine, special comics (Nove e venticinque), and a 10-year anniversary volume. Memberships renew automatically after 365 days.
2. Print Products Sales: Sale of print products including graphic novels (Entangled, €15), children's books (Chi ha rubato la marmellata?, published by Corraini), and Piano magazine to non-members at events and presentations.
3. Documentary Rental / Purchase: Slow News: Il Film documentary available for rent or purchase on Vimeo (€ rental/purchase). International distribution via Java Films.
4. Educational Courses: AI@Work course offered through Slow News Academy on the Thinkific platform, providing journalism and AI skills training.
5. Event Revenue: Revenue from Slow News Days events and live presentations where print products (Piano, Entangled, books) are sold directly to attendees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Slow News is an Italian reader-supported slow journalism platform that publishes in-depth investigative reporting across text, video, podcast, print magazine, graphic novel, and stop-motion animation formats. The company funds its editorial work through annual membership subscriptions (€29–€99) and sells complementary print products (Piano magazine, graphic novels, books) and an online course, while explicitly rejecting advertising-based revenue.

Product overview

Slow News is an Italian slow journalism platform offering a multi-product ecosystem centered on in-depth investigative reporting and media literacy. The core offering is the digital platform (slow-news.com) featuring journalistic series on environment, society, politics, and culture. The portfolio includes print publications (Piano magazine), newsletters (Slowly, Atipiche, The Slow Journalist, Cose che restano), multimedia content (documentary, animated series), publications (graphic novels, books, comics), educational resources (verification handbook, membership guide, AI@Work course), and collaborative projects (A Brave New Europe). The subscription model (€29-99/year) provides access to print materials and supports independent journalism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Piano: Annual monochromatic print magazine published by Slow News. Each issue features 100 pages in a single color, addressing a specific theme through contributions from various authors. First issue published May 2024 in 1483 copies.
• Entangled
• Favole dal Mondo Nuovo
• A Brave New Europe

Products and services

• Slow News Membership (Primo piano, Secondo piano, Terzo piano tiers) Three annual recurring membership tiers (€29 Primo piano, €49 Secondo piano most popular, €99 Terzo piano) that grant subscribers access to Piano magazine, special comics such as Nove e venticinque, and the 10-year anniversary volume Come passa il tempo quando ci si diverte, with automatic 365-day renewal.
• Piano Annual Print Magazine A 100-page annual monochromatic print magazine, each year dedicated to a single theme with contributions from 10+ authors, screen-printed in Milan and shipped to members.
• Entangled Graphic Novel A standalone €15 science fiction graphic novel set in 2043 dealing with the climate crisis, media hypocrisy, and social change, sold via the Slow News website, Bookdealer, and Italian bookstores/comic shops.
• Chi ha rubato la marmellata? Children's Book A media literacy and disinformation-verification book for children authored by Andrea Coccia and illustrated by Maicol&Mirco, published by Corraini and sold through Slow News events and the Corraini distribution network.
• Slow News: Il Film Documentary A documentary on the slow journalism movement available for rent or purchase on Vimeo on Demand (and via Java Films internationally), featuring interviews with global media figures.
• AI@Work Online Course An online course hosted on Thinkific under the Slow News Academy brand providing training on AI tools in journalism and the workplace.
• Come passa il tempo quando ci si diverte (10-Year Anniversary Book) A roughly 100-page anniversary volume gathering ten selected articles from the first ten years of Slow News, sold standalone on pre-order and included in the top membership tier.
• Nove e venticinque Comic A special 32-page comic by Maicol&Mirco on the 1980 Bologna bombing, tied to the 10 e 25 podcast, distributed as a Secondo piano membership perk.
• Verification Handbook 3 (Italian Edition) An Italian-language translation of the Verification Handbook 3, providing journalists with methods to investigate social accounts, identify bots, and counter disinformation.
• The Membership Guide (Italian Edition) An Italian-language edition of the Membership Puzzle Project guide that helps journalism projects design and apply membership models, distributed via Slow News.
• Favole dal Mondo Nuovo (Stop-Motion Animated Series) A five-episode stop-motion animated children's series addressing complexity, discrimination, empathy, sustainability, and the commons, built with recovered materials and distributed via YouTube and Slow News.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,483 artisanal print copies of Piano Rosso sold/distributed in first edition (2024)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IK ProduzionicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIK Produzioni is Slow News's primary production partner, responsible for the documentary Slow News: Il Film, the animated stop-motion series Favole dal Mondo Nuovo, and the Entangled graphic novel. Founded in 2007 by Fulvio Nebbia and Alberto Puliafito, IK Produzioni has collaborated on most of Slow News's special multi-format projects.
• InternazionalecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the A Brave New Europe (ABNE) project. Internazionale collaborates with Slow News on reporting about European cohesion policy, contributing editorial content and co-publishing the ABNE newsletter and series.
• Radio PopolarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the A Brave New Europe (ABNE) project. Radio Popolare collaborates with Slow News on ABNE content, providing radio coverage and audience reach for the European cohesion policy reporting.
• Percorsi di Secondo WelfarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the A Brave New Europe (ABNE) project. Contributes expertise on second welfare and social policy to the ABNE special project, co-producing content on European cohesion policy.
• Zai.netcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the A Brave New Europe (ABNE) project. Zai.net contributes educational media content to the ABNE collaboration on European cohesion policy reporting.
• La Revue Dessinée ItaliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the A Brave New Europe (ABNE) project. La Revue Dessinée Italia collaborates with Slow News on the comic series 'Una montagna di soldi' about European cohesion policy funds in Italy.
• Pagella PoliticaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerItalian fact-checking organization that supported the revision of the Italian translation of Verification Handbook 3, alongside Facta News.
• Facta NewsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerItalian fact-checking organization that supported the revision of the Italian translation of Verification Handbook 3, alongside Pagella Politica.
• NoizaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner that supported the Italian translation of The Membership Guide by Andrea Coccia, alongside Steady and Uppa.
• SteadyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPlatform partner that supported the Italian translation of The Membership Guide, alongside Noiza and Uppa.
• UppaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner that supported the Italian translation of The Membership Guide by Andrea Coccia, alongside Noiza and Steady.
• Java FilmsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational distributor for the documentary Slow News: Il Film. For international viewers (outside Italy), the film is available via Java Films platform.
• BookdealerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline book retailer through which the Entangled graphic novel is available for purchase, in addition to bookstores and comic shops.
• CorrainiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublisher/distributor of Chi ha rubato la marmellata?, a media literacy children's book by Andrea Coccia illustrated by Maicol&Mirco.
• Creative Commons (BY-SA 4.0)coreTechnology or IntegrationAll Slow News content is released under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license, enabling open sharing and remixing while requiring attribution.
• Legno di MilanominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArtisanal screen-printing workshop in Milan that produces Piano magazine (1,483 copies for Piano Rosso 2024 edition).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Internazionale: Italy's leading independent journalism outlet translating and aggregating global investigative reporting. Direct partner in the ABNE coalition; comparable in reader-supported model and Italian-language focus, but at materially larger scale and longer history.
• Altreconomia: Italian independent magazine covering sustainability, finance, and social issues, with a long-running membership/magazine hybrid model. Comparable as a reader-supported Italian independent media outlet targeting engaged citizens.
• IrpiMedia: Italian investigative journalism outlet producing long-form public-interest reporting. Comparable in editorial approach (deep, ad-free investigations) and Italian-language focus, with a similarly lean team.
• Pagella Politica: Italy's main fact-checking organization, partnered with Slow News on the Italian translation of Verification Handbook 3. Comparable as a small Italian nonprofit journalism organization with a similar operational footprint and mission overlap.
• Zetland: Danish membership-based slow journalism outlet also featured in Slow News's documentary. Comparable in editorial philosophy, multi-format approach (long-form text, podcast), and small-team membership model, though serving a different language market.
• Facta News: Italian fact-checking project partnered with Slow News on Verification Handbook 3. Comparable as a small Italian nonprofit journalistic outlet focused on verification and media literacy, with similar funding models.
• Valigia Blu: Italian independent online magazine focused on media criticism, journalism, and digital rights. Operates a similar small-team, no-advertising, member-supported model targeting the same civic-minded Italian audience as Slow News.

Others

• Corraini Edizioni: Italian independent publisher that co-publishes Slow News's children's book 'Chi ha rubato la marmellata?'. Adjacent as a small Italian independent publisher with a comparable artisanal, design-forward approach to print products.
• The Membership Puzzle Project: NYU/Tow Center initiative whose Membership Guide Slow News translated into Italian. Indirect peer as the field's leading thought leader Slow News aligns with on membership-based journalism models.

Broad incumbents

• De Correspondent: Dutch pioneer of membership-funded slow journalism that Slow News explicitly cites as inspiration (featured in its documentary). Operates at much larger scale but is the canonical model Slow News replicates for Italian readers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/slownewscom
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/SlowNewsCom
• Facebookfacebook.com/slownews2014
• Instagraminstagram.com/slownewscom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slownews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Slow News