About

What does it take to build thriving media organizations, accountable to the communities they serve? At a time of global platform monopolies and local newspapers struggling to survive, the future of media will depend on the kinds of economies we design today.

The Media Economies Design Lab begins from the premise that economies are themselves forms of media; they are malleable structures of interaction and meaning-making that organize social life. MEDLab seeks pathways for democratic ownership and governance in the online economy by challenging dominant norms and with neglected histories and possible futures. Drawing on diverse fields such as cultural studies, law, management, media archaeology, organizational communication, and sociology, MEDLab holds space and time for better kinds of business. Our work includes:

• Collaboration with startups and established organizations alike to imagine and develop transformative business models, ownership structures, and governance practices
• Research on under-explored strategies for organizational design, with a particular focus on models that support community wealth-building and appropriate accountability
• Education on media-economy design through student fellowships and collaborations, together with public events and publications

If you are interested in collaborating, contact us at medlab@colorado.edu. To learn more about our internal processes, consult our handbook.