This article caught my attention because it was different than most I have recently read. Yes, we all know that newspapers are dying and that they are having a hard time coming up with enough cash. But how often do we hear of people trying out solutions?
Crosscut.com, an online publication started in Seattle that describes itself as "non-partisan" and "in the public interest," has decided to go non-profit.
Battling the difficult economy, the dropping ad prices, and the high start-up costs was tough for Crosscut.
When advertising sales weren't making ends meet, David Brewster, one of the publishers, said he was running out of both money and patience. So, he turned to a solution that has the potential to save Crosscut.
According to the article, Crosscut will now go from a profit-based business to a non-profit organization:
"As a nonprofit, Crosscut would continue to accept advertising but also would solicit tax-deductible donations from individuals and grants from organizations to help finance its journalism."
One of the most prominent examples of a non-profit news organization is National Public Radio.
So now comes the question - will the public support journalism?
I think that comes down to the press-citizen relationship. People need to think of the press as an asset - something highly valuable that is of immense public service. If they take the press for granted, or if they blame it for current problems, then that relationship will be destroyed.
I think that a non-profit model could possibly work - but I highly doubt that most news organizations are in the right position with their readers right now. If they take steps toward showing themselves as reliable, un-biased, quality journalists, then maybe this non-profit thing could save the press after all.
What do you all think? Will it work? Will people donate to their journalism organizations, or do news professionals need to win their trust first?
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5 comments:
I wrote on the same topic but from a different article. I hope this can help salvage the industry and continue to create new jobs.
I think that this is a very sufficioent article. The non-profit may work but it comes to the newspaper suporters. This will be the test to determine where people really stand in the appreciation of the news.
I think new organizations going non-profit is a great idea. It will allow them to continue producing good stories even when the economy is the way it is.
On a side note, many of us have talked about the competition within journalism being extremely harsh since the economy failing. I don't want to sound like a communist but we may be seeing some truths revealed by the "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx. Competition eventually causes a large lopsided effect between the haves and have nots. So what this means for media is the big will survive and the little will perish, or in theory at least.
I liked the topic of this article, because it's part of a very important issue going on with newspapers, etc. I think that it may work, but this will truley be a test for the company. I think if it benefits the company, or helps create new jobs, I'm all for these new and creative ideas!
Non-profit journalism? I had never thought of that.
I suppose it could work. People are generally more apt to give money to non-profit organizations anyway, so I don't see why it couldn't happen.
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