De Correspondent

De Correspondent is a Dutch digital news organization headquartered in Amsterdam. It was established in 2013 as an alternative to advertising-led news and the rapid daily news cycle. Its founding proposition was that journalism should help readers understand persistent developments, systems, and underlying causes rather than simply report what happened during the previous 24 hours. The publication organizes much of its editorial work around correspondents who act as subject-matter guides. Each correspondent develops a continuing relationship with a topic, explains the choices behind their reporting, and invites readers to contribute knowledge, questions, and relevant experience. The project was co-founded by journalist Rob Wijnberg, former editor-in-chief of NRC Next, with creative director Harald Dunnink, technology leader Sebastian Kersten, and publisher Ernst-Jan Pfauth. Wijnberg presented the idea for an advertising-free, member-supported platform on Dutch national television in March 2013. The initial campaign sought 15,000 members paying €60 for a year. The target was reached in eight days, with the campaign raising more than €1 million, enabling the site to launch on 30 September 2013. De Correspondent's editorial identity is built around context, continuity, and thematic expertise. Its coverage has included subjects such as energy, privacy, technology, economics, climate, and other structural issues that can receive limited attention in conventional news cycles. The organization has also experimented with publishing selected articles in English. In 2014, it reached an arrangement with Medium's Matter magazine to translate and publish stories considered relevant to an international audience; from 2015, De Correspondent began translating stories itself. Membership growth was an important early indicator of the model's traction. The publication reportedly had more than 45,000 paying subscribers by January 2015 and approximately 50,000 by January 2016. Its approach influenced other journalism initiatives, including Germany's Krautreporter. De Correspondent also attempted to extend the model internationally through The Correspondent, an English-language publication launched in 2019 after a large crowdfunding campaign. That project later closed at the end of 2020 after difficulties converting and retaining members and a mismatch between its slower, contextual model and increased demand for immediate news during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dutch publication uses a content-management system called Respondens. Its founders have discussed the possibility of making the system available to other publishers, although no broader commercial release is established in the supplied material. De Correspondent has faced criticism concerning editorial disagreements and the communication of The Correspondent's international plans, but these controversies are distinct from the Dutch service's core editorial and membership model. In February 2026, the publication's editor-in-chief and two deputy editors announced that they would leave their editorial leadership roles to spend more time writing. De Correspondent remains an active example of member-funded, digitally native journalism.

De Correspondent emerged from a critique of the speed and incentives of mainstream news. In March 2013, journalist Rob Wijnberg proposed an advertising-free, membership-supported news platform on Dutch television. Rather than depend primarily on advertising impressions or publish a continuous stream of short updates, the proposed service would build long-term coverage around subjects and recurring social questions. Wijnberg developed the project with Harald Dunnink and Sebastian Kersten of the digital creative agency Momkai, while Ernst-Jan Pfauth joined as publisher. Their crowdfunding campaign asked readers to become annual members, setting an initial target of 15,000 members paying €60 each. The target was surpassed in eight days, producing more than €1 million and allowing the website to launch on 30 September 2013. The publication's central editorial device is the correspondent as guide. Instead of treating every story as an isolated event, correspondents follow a field over time, identify broader patterns, explain their reporting choices, and provide readers with background. The resulting coverage is intended to be chronological and cumulative, with context taking priority over the immediate news agenda. Themes associated with the service include energy, privacy, technology, climate, and future economic developments. The model also encourages reader participation, with members contributing questions, expertise, and lived experience. Early membership figures suggested that the concept had found a substantial audience. De Correspondent was reported to have over 45,000 paying subscribers in January 2015 and around 50,000 in January 2016. In 2014, it formed a translation relationship with Medium's Matter magazine, and in 2015 it began translating selected Dutch articles into English itself. The publication's approach became a reference point for other experiments in crowdfunded and membership-based journalism, including Germany's Krautreporter. The organization later attempted to establish an English-language counterpart called The Correspondent. Its 2018 fundraising effort reached roughly US$2.5 million, supplemented by approximately US$1.8 million in grants and loans from philanthropic backers. The project published its first articles in September 2019. However, supporters and ambassadors had understood the campaign as promising a publication with a significant United States presence. When the project clarified in 2019 that it would not establish a physical US newsroom, it faced criticism from backers, staff, and commentators. The organization apologized for communicating its revised plans poorly. The Correspondent eventually closed on 31 December 2020. Its founders attributed the decision chiefly to insufficient conversion and retention of members, including low renewal among founding members, and to readers' increased desire for immediate news during the pandemic. De Correspondent has also experienced editorial criticism. In 2018, journalist and former correspondent Sarah Kendzior publicly described a serious disagreement over editorial handling of her work and alleged that an editor's position on climate-change denial affected the review of her drafts. The publication rejected the allegations and denied retaliatory deletion of articles; Kendzior argued that its public response understated the depth of the conflict. Technologically, De Correspondent operates with a proprietary or internally developed content-management system known as Respondens. The founders have indicated that the system might eventually be made available to other publishers. In February 2026, the editor-in-chief and two deputy editors announced plans to leave their editorial leadership positions in order to spend more time writing. The available material does not establish a successor structure or a change in ownership. The Dutch publication remains active and continues to represent a distinctive member-funded model for digital journalism.

• 2026

  Editorial leadership departures announced

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  The editor-in-chief and two deputy editors announced that they would step down from editorial leadership.

• 2020

  The Correspondent closes

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  The international publication ceased operations at the end of the year.

• 2019

  The Correspondent publishes first stories

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  The English-language initiative published its first material after crowdfunding.

• 2015

  Direct English translation begins

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  De Correspondent began translating selected Dutch reporting into English.

• 2014

  Matter translation partnership

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  Selected De Correspondent articles began appearing in English through a relationship with Medium's Matter magazine.

• 2013

  Founding crowdfunding campaign succeeds

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  The project reached its target of 15,000 annual members in eight days and raised more than €1 million.

• 2013

  Website goes live

  [1]De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org

  De Correspondent launched on 30 September as a Dutch membership-supported digital news platform.

An ad-free or low-ad-dependence, member-supported journalism platform positioned against the speed, fragmentation, and event-driven logic of conventional daily news. Its editorial promise emphasizes context, subject expertise, continuity, transparency, and reader participation.

• Digital journalism subscription · 2013

  De Correspondent membership

  The core offering is a paid membership that supports access to the publication's digital journalism and its broader editorial model. The original launch campaign asked members to pay for an annual subscription, establishing the organization as an alternative to advertising-dependent publishing. Membership also supports interaction between readers and correspondents, including questions, expertise, and feedback.

• News and analysis · 2013

  Correspondent-led coverage

  De Correspondent's principal editorial product consists of continuing coverage organized around individual correspondents and defined subject areas. Rather than prioritizing only breaking developments, the format emphasizes explanatory reporting, historical context, transparency about editorial choices, and ongoing investigation of structural issues.

• International digital publishing · 2014

  English translations

  The organization has periodically made selected Dutch journalism available in English. This began through a 2014 arrangement involving Matter magazine and expanded in 2015 when De Correspondent undertook its own translation work. The translations serve international readers without turning the Dutch publication into a fully separate English newsroom.

• Publishing technology

  Respondens

  Respondens is the content-management system used by De Correspondent. The founders have described the possibility of making the system available to other publishers, but the supplied material does not confirm a commercial launch or external customer base.

• 2019

  Criticism of The Correspondent's US plans

  Supporters and former staff criticized The Correspondent after it clarified that it would not establish a physical newsroom in the United States, arguing that the fundraising campaign had created a different expectation. The organization apologized for communicating its changed vision poorly and said it had initially envisioned a US newsroom.

  Source

• 2018

  Editorial dispute involving Sarah Kendzior

  Former correspondent Sarah Kendzior publicly alleged that an editor's views about climate-change denial affected the review of her drafts and that her work had been removed in retaliation. De Correspondent denied the allegations in a public response, while Kendzior said the response misrepresented the depth of the disagreement.

  Source

Read more

• 2018The Correspondent international crowdfunding campaign

  United States · International

  The proposed English-language counterpart raised approximately US$2.5 million through crowdfunding, with additional runway funding from philanthropic organizations and public endorsements from prominent supporters.

  Outcome. The project published its first stories in 2019 but later closed after problems with member conversion and retention and controversy over its decision not to establish a physical US newsroom.

  Source
• 2013De Correspondent founding crowdfunding campaign

  Netherlands

  The founders asked readers to become annual members of a new advertising-free digital news platform. The campaign sought 15,000 members paying €60 each and reached the target in eight days, raising more than €1 million.

  Outcome. The funds supported the website's launch in September 2013 and established the publication's membership-based operating model.

  Source

• 2020

  Close The CorrespondentStrategy

  Background

  The English-language initiative experienced weak conversion and renewal, while the pandemic increased demand for immediate news that conflicted with its slower contextual proposition.

  Action taken

  The founders announced that The Correspondent would cease operations on 31 December 2020.

  Aftermath

  The international expansion ended, while the Dutch De Correspondent continued as the core active publication.

  Source

• 2018

  Fund an English-language counterpartProduct launch

  Background

  The organization sought to adapt its contextual journalism model for an international English-speaking audience.

  Action taken

  It supported the creation of The Correspondent through a major crowdfunding campaign and philanthropic runway funding.

  Aftermath

  The Correspondent launched in 2019 but closed at the end of 2020 after failing to achieve sufficient member conversion and retention.

  Crowdfunding raised. Approximately US$2.5 million (2018 campaign)

  Source

• 2014

  Pursue English-language distributionStrategy

  Background

  The publication wanted selected Dutch reporting to reach readers outside the Netherlands.

  Action taken

  It entered a translation arrangement with Matter magazine and subsequently expanded its own English translation work.

  Aftermath

  Selected stories became available to international readers and helped inform later efforts to create an English-language publication.

  Source

• 2013

  Adopt a member-funded journalism modelStrategy

  Background

  The founders sought an alternative to advertising-led media and the short-term incentives of the daily news cycle.

  Action taken

  They launched a crowdfunding campaign for annual memberships and built the publication around recurring reader support.

  Aftermath

  The campaign reached its initial target in eight days and enabled the website to launch later in 2013.

  Founding crowdfunding proceeds. More than €1 million (2013 campaign)

  Source

1. 1De Correspondenten.wikipedia.org
2. 2De Correspondent official websitedecorrespondent.nl