Handouts For Newspapers?
David Westphal considers the possibility of for-profit newspapers accepting philanthropy at the Online Journalism Review. The threats to journalistic objectivity are obvious, but the need for funding is growing stronger by the day. Westphal is in a unique position to lead the discussion- the OJR is associated with the Knight Foundation, which recently awarded $5 million in grants to community foundations to fund information projects- to “fill information voids” in the foundation’s own words. The information voids are arguably growing, as newspapers across the country watch staff and profits dwindle.
Westphal discussed the issue with several newspaper professionals, who had varying reactions:
Charlotte Hall, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, told me the idea raises multiple questions about how newspapers could solicit philanthropic support and still retain credibility. But bottom line? “I believe that a model could emerge for foundations to fund some local reporting at newspapers — investigative reporting or an important local beat, for example,” she said in an e-mail. “A new kind of firewall would be needed to assure independent reporting and unencumbered editing.”
In contrast:
Some editors have questions about foundation funding by Knight and others of community online news sites.
Bill Marimow, editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, told me that the idea “is troubling to me… All of us in newspapers are struggling to fulfill our public service mandate. Creating competition at a time of flagging revenues and profit runs is contrary to preserving the core mission.”
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online 
FishbowlLA Twitter feed loading...
