We are press freedom advocates
The founders of First Draft Media are three press freedom advocates who believe that to make journalism viable and sustainable again, the industry needs to refocus its energy on their audience, on building products that serve their communities, and on collaborating with one another.
We are building First Draft Media to empower newsrooms to reimagine what journalism means to them and their audiences, thereby turning journalism into a viable business model.
On this page
- Sudeshna Chanda—Chief Product Officer
- Joris van Duijne—Chief Executive Officer
- Marcel Oomens—Chief Technologist
Sudeshna Chanda
Sudeshna is First Draft Media's Chief Product Officer, a media strategist and product thinker dedicated to advancing independent journalism through audience engagement, news product innovation and support for exiled media.
She specializes in re-imagining journalism with a strong audience-centric approach, ensuring that editorial strategies are aligned with the needs and interests of the people they serve.
Her work focuses on building sustainable news products that prioritize impact measurement, audience feedback, and innovative storytelling formats. She has been instrumental in developing resources tailored to the unique challenges of exiled media, including strategies for audience growth, financial sustainability, and editorial resilience.
Find out how First Draft Media can help engage audiences and improve the sustainability of your newsroom operations.
Joris van Duijne
Joris is First Draft Media's Chief Executive Officer, a media-development specialist and press freedom activist for over 20 years.
Joris is known for his pivotal role as Executive Director of Zamaneh Media. He has been instrumental in driving the organization's strategic vision, diversification and growth. He has a particular focus on fostering independent journalism through media viability and business development, also for non-profit outlets, and digital transformation in challenging environments.
Joris has also worked for Free Voice, Free Press Unlimited and the Doha Center for Media Freedom.
Find out how First Draft Media can help you bring your ideas to publication and professionalize your editorial and publishing business.
Marcel Oomens
Marcel is First Draft Media's Chief Technologist, combining a background in journalism and publishing technology with a strong foundation in technology innovation, software development and AI.
Marcel specializes in publisher-first, audience-centric anti-censorship solutions that help publishers to maintain audience reach under the most adversarial censorship conditions.
His passion projects are censorship circumvention and shutdown mitigation, newsroom digital security, online privacy, whistleblower and source protection. Together with Sudeshna, Marcel develops editorial workflow and newsroom AI solutions.
Find out how First Draft Media can help innovate and secure your newsroom processes.