July 30, 2010
What’s the key to survival for nontraditional news startups? Diversity - at least in terms of varied revenue streams and ways to create journalistic and community value.
That’s one core precept identified this spring at a roundtable of a dozen innovative news startups and now detailed in a new report, “Seeking Sustainability: A Nonprofit News Roundtable.” The nonprofit startups included California Watch, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund, Chicago News Cooperative, Voice of San Diego, The Texas Tribune and others. They were brought together in April by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Among other central lessons the startups shared:
* Leadership, business model and visibility were more important to developing successful community and media partnerships than was initial financial backing.
* Traditional media partners, particularly public media, can be very helpful for distributing content and providing organizational and financial support.
* Memberships can be an effective source of revenue - incentives and benefits may be a further boost.
* Existing technology is a better bet than custom tools, especially for startups with limited tech staffing and budget.
For more on the report, visit a July 27 post in KnightBlog, or go directly to the pdf of the 82-page report, which also includes nearly a dozen videos from the roundtable discussion.
July 28, 2010
Knightblog, the blog of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is an excellent source of ideas and news about important projects changing the world of journalism and more.
Here are some recent posts from this blog about Knight’s journalism program and related news…
- My Story, My Goal: In response to the UN Millennium Development Goals, 14 young journalists from the University of Miami collaborated with local partners to share coverage personifying some of the most critical global problems. Stories about seven people from African and Asian countries were compiled into a short documentary, This is My Goal.
- Dangers of Covering Corruption: “Covering corruption is more dangerous than covering war,” says Rosemary Armao, author of a new report from the Center for International Media Assistance. The report suggests ways to improve the safety of reporters, rethink investigative journalism training, and use digital technology to empower journalists and communities—three areas of focus for Knight grants.
- Seeking Sustainability: In April, the Knight Foundation sponsored a roundtable gathering of 12 groundbreaking nonprofit news startups, including California Watch, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund, the Chicago News Cooperative, Voice of San Diego, and The Texas Tribune. This event is summarized in a new report and 12 videos that touch on issues common to all online news startups: journalism and advertising models, generating revenue, interacting with and building community, technology and innovation, and more.
Knightblog covers all of the Foundation’s program areas—which beyond journalism include arts, communities, innovation, and key national issues such as immigration naturalization and broadband access.
By Amy Gahran, 07/28/10 at 9:54 am
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July 27, 2010
Amid debate about news paywalls, a bit of not-so-good news for those hoping to get consumers to pony up. A new study shows that despite the enormous popularity of Internet services like Twitter, no one seems actually willing to pay for them.
The annual Digital Future report just out from USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism found, for instance, that while 49 percent of Internet users use free microblogging tools like Twitter, not one of those surveyed said they’d be willing to pay for them.
Jeffrey Cole, director of the school’s Center for the Digital Future, which has been conducting the study since 2000, noted that “Twitter has no plans to charge its users, but this result illustrates, beyond any doubt, the tremendous problem of transforming free users into paying users.”
And it’s not like users see online advertising as a good alternative for funding the media they use. The study found half never click on web advertising, and 70 percent found it “annoying.” In the end, though, 55 percent would rather see online advertising than pay for content. Added Cole: “Consumers really want free content without advertising, but ultimately they understand that content has to be paid for - one way or another.”
The study also showed ever-greater use of online services paired with a continued decline in use of print newspapers, along with a rising perception that online information is unreliable. See highlights of the report (PDF).
July 23, 2010
As news spreads today of the death of Daniel Schorr, the legendary journalist and commentator, his legacy lives on. WBUR and Boston University are accepting entries for the ninth annual Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize.
This $5000 award is given to a rising young journalist in public radio. It honors a news story or segment of significance and quality, and celebrates the new generation of journalists in public radio…
This $5000 award is given to a rising young journalist in public radio. It honors a news story or segment of significance and quality, and celebrates the new generation of journalists in public radio.
This competition is open to journalists who were 35 years old or younger as of June 30, 2010. Eligible works focus on any local, national, or international news issue significant to the listening public. Must have been broadcast in the US between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 on any CPB-qualified radio station. No group applications; a single journalist must be principally responsible for each entry. Only one entry per journalist.
Learn more and enter now
Deadline for entries: Sept. 17, 2010
...Also, if you haven’t yet read it, another fascinating part of Schorr’s legacy is his book of selected works, 1972-78: Forgive Us Our Press Passes, covering the period after he was named on President Richard Nixon’s notorious “enemies list.”
And the Christian Science Monitor has republished Schorr’s first article for that outlet—this 1948 report from the Netherlands, covering the launch of Europe’s first attempt at forming a united congress.
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