The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan
The Reporter Media Foundation is a Taipei-based non-profit investigative journalism organization founded in 2015, producing free long-form multimedia reporting on Taiwan's public-interest issues, funded entirely by reader donations and corporate sponsorships without advertising or paywalls. It serves the Taiwanese public through its main platform, podcasts, and a children's media literacy sub-brand used in 200+ schools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersTaipei, Taiwan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan does
The Reporter Media Foundation (報導者文化基金會) is a Taipei-based non-profit news organization founded in September 2015 as Taiwan's first investigative journalism outlet established by a public welfare foundation. It produces long-form, multimedia investigative reporting across eight editorial categories — international/cross-strait affairs, human rights and justice, politics and society, health, environment, economy, culture, and education — distributed free of charge via twreporter.org, a Progressive Web App, RSS, five major podcast platforms (SoundOn, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, KKBOX), email newsletters, and social media.
The technology stack is digital-native and content-centric: a web publishing platform with multimedia and interactive data visualization capabilities, two flagship podcast series (The Real Story with 25M+ cumulative downloads, and the On the Ground documentary series), a structured data monitoring tool (Reporter Observatory), and the Youth Reporter (少年報導者) children's sub-brand delivered in 10 languages with 200+ school integrations. The foundation published AI Use Guidelines in July 2024 but does not disclose proprietary AI/ML systems or developer APIs.
The business model is donation-funded reader-supported journalism: no advertising, no government subsidies, and no subscription paywall on content. Revenue comes from small individual donations (~50% of operating expenses), an Angel Donor recurring sponsorship tier (NT$100,000+/year for 3 years), corporate public welfare partnerships (Chunghwa Telecom, RC Cultural Arts Foundation, Advantech Foundation), and multinational employee donation matching programs (Microsoft, Google, ASML). The "Three No Principles" for donors — no ownership, no interference, no involvement in editorial decisions — structurally enforce editorial independence. The organization has three wholly-owned sub-brand operating units (Youth Reporter, The Real Story podcast, Reporter Observatory), ~30 employees represented by the 全傳媒 labor union under three successive collective bargaining agreements (2020, 2023, 2026), and has accumulated 100+ domestic and international journalism awards including the 2021 Social Public Device Award and 2023 SND World's Best Digital Design recognition.
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan
- Legal name
- 財團法人報導者文化基金會
- Website
- https://twreporter.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Reporter Media Foundation is a Taipei-based non-profit investigative journalism organization founded in 2015, producing free long-form multimedia reporting on Taiwan's public-interest issues, funded entirely by reader donations and corporate sponsorships without advertising or paywalls. It serves the Taiwanese public through its main platform, podcasts, and a children's media literacy sub-brand used in 200+ schools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Non-profit investigative journalism
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK), Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ), Children’s News & Current Affairs Programming (MPABAKAK)
Keywords
Where The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Taipei
- HQ country
- Taiwan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan 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
- Reader Donations and Sponsorship: Primary revenue from public donations and reader sponsorship. Small donations (小額捐款) account for approximately 50% of operating expenses. Reader supporters can subscribe to tiered email newsletter plans. The foundation also accepts corporate and individual public welfare sponsorships. All donations are publicly disclosed, with donors above NT$300,000 specially acknowledged on the website annually. Audited financial reports are published.
- Angel Donor Recurring Sponsorship: Angel Donor Program (天使捐款人計畫): Annual sponsorship of NT$100,000 or more for 3 consecutive years. Benefits include annual impact report (paperback), priority registration for events/lectures/performances, and 1-year membership to National Theater & Concert Hall '廳院迷' program.
- Corporate Employee Donation Partnerships: Corporate Employee Donation Programs: Partner companies organize internal employee donation matching campaigns (e.g., Microsoft, Google, ASML). The foundation serves as the recipient of corporate CSR/donation initiatives.
- Free Content with Voluntary Support Model: Free access to all content on the website, podcast, and multimedia reports. Content is provided free of charge to maximize public reach. Revenue is generated through voluntary reader support rather than paywalls.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Angel Donor annual sponsorship (NT$100,000+/year for 3 years) |
| Subscription | Monthly | General reader donation/sponsorship (voluntary amounts) |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free content with voluntary donation support |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Reporter is Taiwan's first non-profit investigative journalism organization, operating the digital news platform twreporter.org that publishes in-depth, multimedia reporting on human rights, environment, politics, cross-strait affairs, health, and economics. Content is distributed free of charge through the website, podcasts, email newsletters, and a Progressive Web App, with a children's media-literacy sub-brand (Kids Reporter 少年報導者) and a flagship podcast《The Real Story》that has accumulated over 25 million downloads. The foundation is funded entirely by reader donations and corporate sponsorships and does not accept commercial advertising or government subsidies.
Product overview
The Reporter Media Foundation operates a portfolio of news media products centered on investigative journalism and public interest reporting. The core offering is the twreporter.org platform featuring in-depth news coverage across 8 categories. Supporting products include the 《少年報導者》 sub-brand for child/youth media, two podcast lines (《The Real Story》 and 《誰來讀新聞》), the 《報導者觀測站》 monitoring tool, the 《On the Ground 路邊攤計畫》 documentary podcast, and the 十週年線上策展 anniversary exhibition. The organization distributes content via email newsletters (3 types), RSS feeds, social media, and major podcast platforms (SoundOn, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, KKBOX). Reader engagement is enabled through the 報導者支持方案 membership program and a Progressive Web App. All text content is released under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Taiwan license.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 少年報導者: Children's news platform with multilingual content and media literacy resources for young readers, available in 10 languages
- The Real Story by 報導者
- 報導者觀測站
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 40 major journalism awards since founding in 2015, including the prestigious 2021 Social Public Device Award
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- 中華電信 (Chunghwa Telecom)minorCorporate public welfare cooperation partner supporting The Reporter's investigative journalism. Listed as a cooperation case on the foundation's public welfare partnership page.
- RC文化藝術基金會minorCorporate public welfare cooperation partner. Listed as a cooperation case supporting The Reporter's mission.
- 研華文教基金會 (Advantech Foundation)minorCorporate public welfare cooperation partner. Listed as a cooperation case supporting The Reporter's mission.
- MicrosoftminorCorporate employee donation matching program where Microsoft organizes internal employee donation campaigns matching employee contributions to The Reporter.
- Google公益日活動minorGoogle Taiwan employee donation day campaign where employee donations are matched by the company.
- ASML企業相對捐活動minorASML employee donation matching program where the company matches employee donations to The Reporter.
- 中央廣播電台 (RTI)minorCooperation partner for 《少年報導者》multi-language news content. Starting May 2023, launched 9-language multilingual news reading program together with央廣 to provide children's media literacy education.
- 經濟民主連合minorActed as publisher for the diaspora Hong Kong magazine 《如水》(Flow HK), demonstrating cross-civil society cooperation for human rights and press freedom issues.
- 自由亞洲電台 (RFA)minorJoint production partnership for Hong Kong-related reporting, including English translations and international coverage of Hong Kong exodus stories.
- 全傳媒 (全國傳播媒體產業工會)coreLabor union partnership. The foundation has over half of employees in the 全傳媒 union. Three collective bargaining agreements signed (2020, 2023, 2026) with union representation.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Bureau of Investigative Journalism: UK-based non-profit investigative journalism organization that produces long-form public-interest investigations with grant and donor funding. Comparable in mission, scale, and dependence on a small editorial team to produce high-impact investigations.
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): Global non-profit that coordinates cross-border investigative projects among member outlets; natural collaboration peer for The Reporter's emerging international investigations and a model for how a non-profit newsroom can scale impact through networked reporting.
- The Conversation: Non-profit news organization that distributes explanatory journalism written by academics; relevant peer for The Reporter's data journalism and explainer-heavy investigative style, and for the foundation/newsroom hybrid model.
- ProPublica: US-based non-profit investigative newsroom funded primarily by reader donations; closest structural analog to The Reporter in mission, funding model, and audience-facing investigative reporting. Both organizations pursue long-form public-interest investigations and rely on independence as a core brand attribute.
- The Intercept: Non-profit investigative newsroom with a similar independence-driven brand and donor-supported model; comparable in producing award-winning investigative pieces on national security, civil liberties, and government accountability topics that overlap The Reporter's human rights and cross-strait coverage.
- Bellingcat: Open-source cross-border investigative journalism collective with comparable focus on international affairs investigations (e.g., cross-strait and conflict-zone accountability work). Similar posture on data-driven investigative methodology and donor-supported funding model.
- The Marshall Project: US non-profit newsroom focused on criminal justice investigative reporting; similar operating scale, donation-driven model, and award-winning editorial output. Comparable in staffing (~30-50 employees) and in producing both written and podcast journalism on under-covered public-interest topics.
Regional players
- Malaysiakini: Malaysia-based independent online news outlet with a strong investigative and public-interest focus; comparable as a Southeast Asian digital-first independent media outlet navigating political and regulatory pressure similar to what The Reporter faces on cross-strait topics.
- Hong Kong Free Press: Hong Kong-based non-profit, English-language news outlet with a reader-supported funding model; comparable as a Cantonese/Chinese-speaking region digital newsroom with donor-driven sustainability and an editorial mission focused on rights and accountability journalism.
- Rappler: Philippine independent news outlet known for investigative reporting and high-profile accountability journalism; comparable as an Asian regional player with non-traditional ownership/independence characteristics and similar donor-supporter engagement patterns.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan social profiles
Digital presenceThe Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan 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 The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan
What does The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan do?
The Reporter is Taiwan's first non-profit investigative journalism organization, operating the digital news platform twreporter.org that publishes in-depth, multimedia reporting on human rights, environment, politics, cross-strait affairs, health, and economics. Content is distributed free of charge through the website, podcasts, email newsletters, and a Progressive Web App, with a children's media-literacy sub-brand (Kids Reporter 少年報導者) and a flagship podcast《The Real Story》that has accumulated over 25 million downloads. The foundation is funded entirely by reader donations and corporate sponsorships and does not accept commercial advertising or government subsidies.
Is The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan a public or private company?
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan founded?
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan based?
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, in the Asia region.
How does The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Reader Donations and Sponsorship is the primary driver. The others are angel Donor Recurring Sponsorship, corporate Employee Donation Partnerships and free Content with Voluntary Support Model.
Who are The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), The Conversation, ProPublica, The Intercept, Bellingcat and The Marshall Project. Regional players are Malaysiakini, Hong Kong Free Press and Rappler.
Does The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan.
What industry is The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan in?
The Reporter Media Foundation, Taiwan's product category is Non-profit investigative journalism. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of MPAJADAK, Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data). Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.