Discussion
Mother Jones reports that, “In the first half of 2009, 123 TV news shows were canceled, 106 newspapers folded, 110 bureaus closed, 556 magazines died, and 12,000 journalists lost their jobs. These numbers are likely to get much worse. The old model, where journalism was heavily subsidized by advertising, is over.”
Working Papers
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- Small team, non profit network
Small groups, large-scale payoff
It’s possible that a network of diverse local journalism groups — rather than one big organization — could join together to create a comprehensive, nimble approach to covering the news in Portland. Barry Johnson describes how it could happen. - Revenue models for an online news site
How do we fund an online news site?
Journalism nonprofits around the nation are juggling different ways of generating funding. Here are three different possibilities for revenue models. - New nonprofit news organizations
How to make a nonprofit work
The Voice of San Diego is often cited as of the shining examples of how a nonprofit news organization can work. In this excerpt from Nieman Reports, the site’s founders lay out the metrics that define their success. - A new internet news site
The rebirth of journalism in Oregon
If you could create a new news organization for Portland, what would it look like? How would it get funding? Would it operate alone or would it partner with other traditional news groups? Ron Buel lays out the argument for why it needs to happen. - Local cable news program
Incorporating television into a new organization
Portland needs more substantive television news, and there’s clearly a market for it. Is the best format a new cable channel? Should it be a rotating mix of news, arts and entertainment, and community forum programs? And what exactly should it cover? - Expand OPB's news organization
Investigative reporting, for radio, and OPB’s website.
Conceivably, OPB could become the over-arching community-based nonprofit, driving all of the ideas suggested above.
Recent Comments
- So I've finally decided that (assuming we get to choose) this is the breakout session for me. I really like the nuts and boltsiness of it. One worry I have ... Reply
- I’d like to put Neighborhood Notes, www.neighborhoodnotes.com, into the ring of examples. We publish community-focused news, events and commentary for all Por... Reply
- Bill, thanks for the thoughtful reading! I think the tension between "democracy" and "standards" is fairly easily resolved: Reasonable and rational people... Reply
- Bret, I agree with you to an extent, in that the "hyper-local" is but one part of the model; however, I think journalists need to be cautious about focusing o... Reply
- Thanks for this paper, Ron. First, the answer is clear, though I imagine many people reading this and participating in the WMTM conference might agree: Yes,... Reply
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