Editors are open to philanthropy to support news-gathering
The president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors says there may be a way for newspapers to seek philanthropy in support of news-gathering, without giving way to conflicts of interest or loss of credibility. So said Charlotte Hall, editor of the Orlando Sentinel, in a blog I posted today at Online Journalism Review.
And she isn't alone. Robert Rivard of San Antonio and Nancy Barnes of Minneapolis also indicated they could accept foundation support under certain circumstances. Although newspapers have accepted foundation grants before (particularly Pew civic journalism awards), this strikes me as a potential watershed moment. None of these people thinks philanthropy will be the main driver of news revenue, but rather a way to sustain critical reporting. This is going to be worth watching, especially if newspapers and broadcasters go beyond journalism foundations to tap into civic foundations, private giving and membership models.
About Me
- DAVID WESTPHAL
- Executive in residence at USC's Annenberg School for Communication. I'm also a senior fellow at the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, and affiliated with the Knight Digital Media Center, both at USC.
1 comment:
I think MSM should look into setting up nonprofit arms. They should compete aggressively for philanthropic funding (only with no strings attached, of course) because they have two things going for them that upstarts lack: a long-established, reputable brand and a functioning news model (oh, and a cadre -- though rapidly shrinking -- of professional journalists). I'm curious about how these new entities will sustain themselves once the grant runs out. Do they expect to keep returning to the well? Although MSM have a lot of baggage, and most grew fat in the 1980s and '90s because they faced little competition, they've certainly gotten religion (let's mix a few metaphors here) and are giving readers a great deal of value. Call me a self-interested dinosaur, but I think MSM and their websites need to remain the primary engines of news.
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