{"id":2742,"date":"2007-08-13T19:07:15","date_gmt":"2007-08-13T19:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/dc\/jtm-dc-pros-and-cons-of-nonprofit-model\/"},"modified":"2007-08-13T19:07:15","modified_gmt":"2007-08-13T19:07:15","slug":"jtm-dc-pros-and-cons-of-nonprofit-model","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/dc\/jtm-dc-pros-and-cons-of-nonprofit-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Jtm-dc-pros-and-cons-of-nonprofit-model"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\nReport of Journalism That Matters Breakout session
\nRETURN TO MAIN REPORTS PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

==Pros and cons of nonprofit models for journalism==
\n
\nReported by Jessica Clark <\/p>\n

Cons
\n*angel investors can die or lose interest
\n*foundations sometimes tie requirements t o monies
\n*hard to fund open-ended innovation–nonprofits often worried about survival<\/p>\n

Pros
\n*can pursue mission
\n*can insulate from market
\n*don\u2019t have to answer to shareholders<\/p>\n

Wally Bowen:
\n
\nDetails of the Mountain Area Information Network Model<\/a>
\nMembership model\u2014web hosting, wireless, dial-up
\nGenerate and aggregate content while providing a media service<\/p>\n

Membership model with vertical integration<\/p>\n

Need 1000 members to break even; currently investing in capital expansion<\/p>\n

Community news portal: 17,000 unique users per day<\/p>\n

Started monetizing it by soliciting public radio-style sponsorships<\/p>\n

Encourages other public radio and community stations to use the wireless spectrum in this way<\/p>\n

Interested in replicating model around the country<\/p>\n

10 full-time employees<\/p>\n

Other membership models:<\/p>\n

Public-radio style appeal to nonprofit media<\/p>\n

How do you run the business?<\/p>\n

Local bureaus vs. centralized, top-heavy model<\/p>\n

Need to be willing to take a chance on something that\u2019s different from the status quo<\/p>\n

Possible to set up some kind of mega site where investigative journalists can propose projects and solicit funding?<\/p>\n

NOTE: Paypal allowing related donations to causes, one funding stream<\/p>\n

Examples: AlterNet fundraising for Josh Holland; Robert Greenwald soliciting funds to finish films<\/p>\n

Chris Peck\u2019s new newsroom: community stock option\u2014enables engagement<\/p>\n

Membership model for magazine publishing widely successful: Consumer\u2019s Union, Sierra Club, Smithsonian<\/p>\n

How to adopt model: concept of social networking adapted to community-building?<\/p>\n

NOTE: The Nation collects members outside of their nonprofit structure so that they can endorse candidates<\/p>\n

Magazine as loss leaders to support larger organization…not a viable model for publication-only projects<\/p>\n

Cost of paper, ink, mailing, distribution\u2014crippling to magazines<\/p>\n

Geneva: Need to think carefully about how effectively we\u2019re collaborating with like-minded orgs<\/p>\n

Make sure that projects fit into an effective universe<\/p>\n

Does that apply to news projects?<\/p>\n

Need to think about the universe of projects<\/p>\n

Funders love it when nonprofits work together<\/p>\n

Need for a nonprofit media Mashable…a site that tracks and assesses online public journalism start-ups<\/p>\n

Aggregating an audience is another useful challenge<\/p>\n

Example: Amy Goodman\u2019s audience\u2014could be a cross-pollinated audience for investigative journalism<\/p>\n

Evaluate impact of stories and projects\u2014another piece of the research puzzle that foundations are interested in<\/p>\n

Nonprofit journalism can be shared if you can set up the appropriate conduits; nonprofits don\u2019t need to compete the same way for-profit projects do<\/p>\n

A lot more creative connections can be made<\/p>\n

Another example: New America Media\u2014bringing ethnic media content into the English language<\/p>\n

NGOs also do a lot of reporting as well<\/p>\n

How do we reach individuals? Example: Media Reform Conference\u2014shows passion and interest in this topic<\/p>\n

Question of \u201cpurity\u201d starts to crop up\u2014who\u2019s giving money to journalism projects, and what are the implications? Where are the ethical lines drawn?<\/p>\n

Geneva: make pools of money generic and then tell people the terms under which they\u2019re contributing<\/p>\n

Tipjars: research how this is working<\/p>\n

Lots of the grants that are out there for local or community projects<\/p>\n

Dan Gillmor: Growing community foundation movement in this country
\nAnnual meeting: San Francisco<\/p>\n

What about news co-ops? Like grocery co-ops\u2026could work with engaged citizens. Partner with existing co-op to attach journalism to it?<\/p>\n

114 million Americans members of co-ops\u2014mostly credit unions
\npossible sources of collaboration<\/p>\n

Granddaddy: Associated Press<\/p>\n

Newspaper Guild: trying to buy Knight-Ridder. Got as close as a lot of business moguls got\u2026too much money in the end, but a good effort to create an employee stock ownership program<\/p>\n

Wally: share home page real estate with 2 local independent weeklies, along with the Gannett-owned paper<\/p>\n

Cross-posting of content for traffic-building; news websites are eager to work with aggregators<\/p>\n

Also providing lots of local, free, useful community information: weather, road reports, free links to artists, etc.<\/p>\n

NOTE: there\u2019s a lot of digital divide money out there; a good pool for seed funding<\/p>\n

Another model\u2026News Trusts: St. Petersberg Times, Guardian<\/p>\n

How to move stories about journalism and models out to a wider audience?<\/p>\n

Economic structures that would invite investors but be a nonprofit?<\/p>\n

No, would be underwriters, founders\u2026return would be engagement in a worth<\/p>\n

Social investors are willing to limit possible return\u2026<\/p>\n

Group of that type in Portland, but they still need the 2 percent return<\/p>\n

Need almost a generation of transition to see a return–"patient capital"<\/p>\n

Long-term, the challenge is to convince people of the value of journalism<\/p>\n

A marketing problem: teaching consumers to want a product <\/p>\n

NOTE: nonprofit organizations can issue a bond\u2026a form of a loan to raise capital<\/p>\n

In a startup model, socially engaged investors can write off failures as bad loan<\/p>\n

Can write off a donation as well: pros and cons of each option?<\/p>\n

NOTE: centralize information list on Center for Social Media about media and socially conscious investing?<\/p>\n

PERHAPS EVEN BETTER: work with Poynter to set up a page on new business models?<\/p>\n

Need at these convenings: a lawyer, an MBA, an investment counselor…<\/p>\n

NOTES PREPARED\/POSTED BY: <\/p>\n

Jessica Clark
\n20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)20:54, 9 August 2007 (EDT)
\nResearch Director, Center for Social Media, American University
\nwww.centerforsocialmedia.org<\/p>\n

Editor-at-Large, In These Times magazine
\nwww.inthesetimes.com
\n2006 Winner: Utne Independent Press Awards, Best Political Reporting<\/p>\n

E-mail and AIM: jessica@buildtheecho.net
\nSkype: jessica_clark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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