As the first media outlet to be managed by a European Cooperative Society (SCE), Voxeurop was determined from the outset to place democratic governance at the heart of its business. In a cooperative, each member is entitled to one vote at the General Meeting, regardless of the share of capital he or she holds. Cooperative status also guarantees employees ownership of the publication for which they work, and gives them majority control. For Voxeurop, as for other cooperative media businesses, the purpose of their endeavour is not to generate profit but to serve a public interest: that of informing citizens.
The idea of employees owning part of their company's capital dates back to the 18th century. The first cooperatives of the time were a way for employees to control the wealth they produced. Workers who were prohibited by law from forming trade unions were thus able to influence their working conditions.
Since then, cooperatives, including press cooperatives, have sprung up all over the world. Germany's Die Tageszeitung is a good example. In 1977, a group of activists and students, inspired by the Libération model, founded the Tageszeitung (also known as the Taz) with the help of a donation campaign. In 1992, growing financial difficulties forced the founders to change their model. They opted for the cooperative model, with the goal of relying on their readers rather than finding a shareholder willing to finance them. Over the years, the Taz has grown in membership and readership. Today, the daily paper edition has a circulation of 50,000 copies a month, the cooperative has 23,000 members and the Taz brand is widely recognized.
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