Word: publica
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...Enter Pro Publica, a non-profit news organization devoted solely to investigative journalism and funded to the tune of $10 million a year by California-based philanthropists Herb and Marion Sandler. With a staff of 18 journalists (10 additional reporters have yet to begin), the group hopes to release their stories for free through exclusive deals with major media outlets such as the New York Times, The Atlantic and 60 Minutes, among other potential partners. On June 22, its first major story - about Al Hurra, a U.S.-funded Middle Eastern TV network that has broadcast anti-American propaganda - aired...
...Publica responded that its aim is to maximize each story's impact, which will involve hooking up with big name outlets. The group's purpose - as corny as it sounds - is to produce those increasingly rare stories that possess "moral force," according to editor-in-chief Paul Steiger, who spent 16 years as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal. "We're going to try to do stories such that, by shining a light on an abuse of power, we'll give the public the information it needs to effect change," he says. Such statements make Steiger sound like...
...Publica, one answer to the problem is to give news away for free - fulfilling the lofty ideal of journalism as an essential public service. It's not unlike what nonprofit entities like NPR, PBS and CSPAN - as well as journalism organizations like The Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Investigative Reporting have been doing for decades. But with most of Pro Publica's assets the product of the Sandlers' largesse, it leaves the group open to speculation, as Slate media columnist Jack Shafer pointed out, that the Sandlers political views could influence coverage: the couple have donated heavily...
...Herb Sandler dismisses such concerns. "We would destroy this thing if we were to interfere," he says. "We totally understand that this will be a failure unless it's totally independent and we're not into supporting failures." Yet for Pro Publica to be considered a success, it will need to prove it can sustain a track record of high-profile, high-quality journalism and that it can survive past the Sandlers' initial three-year financial commitment. Such an achievement could create opportunities for more philanthropy-supported journalism. As Duke University economist James T. Hamilton puts it, "Newspapers used...
...raise interesting new issues of accountability, they allow readers exposure to more international reporting from newspapers abroad along with instantaneous coverage provided by bloggers around the world. Furthermore, we can hope to see reporters financed by means outside of the traditional big media outlets. Innovative ventures (such as Pro Publica) which try to provide investigative reporting projects to the big media may become a part of the journalistic landscape in the future...