Read on Twitter
So, let's talk a little bit about Eric Schmidt's $4.7 million donation to NPR.
Some will question his motives, since Google has an interest in appeasing the news industry. Some might write it off as small.
But I'm actually a big fan of this. https://www.npr.org/about-npr/857862475/-4-7-million-grant-from-eric-wendy-schmidt-to-npr-collaborative-journalism-netwo
Some will question his motives, since Google has an interest in appeasing the news industry. Some might write it off as small.
But I'm actually a big fan of this. https://www.npr.org/about-npr/857862475/-4-7-million-grant-from-eric-wendy-schmidt-to-npr-collaborative-journalism-netwo
First: The what.
Schmidt's gift will fund 2 of NPR's new regional newsrooms, which are meant to link local affiliates and fuel more ambitious coverage.
It's a $4M vote of confidence in NPR as the future of local/state news. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=805749582&live=1
Schmidt's gift will fund 2 of NPR's new regional newsrooms, which are meant to link local affiliates and fuel more ambitious coverage.
It's a $4M vote of confidence in NPR as the future of local/state news. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=805749582&live=1
It's also of a piece with the Google News Initiative, which is funding some nonprofit news experiments around the country to try and win some favor from the media industry/do light penance for destroying its business model. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/12/10/1958539/0/en/With-3-1-Million-in-Initial-Funding-from-Google-News-Initiative-and-the-American-Journalism-Project-Berkeleyside-Launches-New-Journalism-Platform-in-Oakland-Creates-Nonprofit-to-De.html
Now, why do I find any of this interesting?
Right now, it's becoming pretty obvious that, for the most part, we're not going to find a magic business model that saves for-profit state and local news. Non-profit increasingly seems like the future.
Right now, it's becoming pretty obvious that, for the most part, we're not going to find a magic business model that saves for-profit state and local news. Non-profit increasingly seems like the future.
But what's the best way to build a nonprofit news ecosystem?
I've oddly spent a lot of time thinking about that (partly because I started my career wanting to be a normal metro reporter, and never really got the chance, because newspapers were a wreck).
I've oddly spent a lot of time thinking about that (partly because I started my career wanting to be a normal metro reporter, and never really got the chance, because newspapers were a wreck).
The way I see it, there are really two broad paths forward (I'm being a little reductive, but whatever):
1) You build a lot of news orgs that look something like the Texas Tribune.
2) You build out NPR's local affiliates into a much, much bigger force.
1) You build a lot of news orgs that look something like the Texas Tribune.
2) You build out NPR's local affiliates into a much, much bigger force.
The Tribune path has a lot of advantages. You're starting something new, which means you can build a lean, modern news org without a lot legacy costs. The Tribune runs on a budget of about $8 million, according to its last 990. It punches above its weight. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/264527097/01_2020_prefixes_26-26%2F264527097_201812_990_2020013117096179
