Christian Science Monitor Reports Nonprofit Journalism on Rise

Business news is full of reports on the impending death of newspapers. But the Christian Science Monitor suggests that there are donors unwilling to do without the essential role that newspapers provide for those of us who want more than sound bites and slide shows:

The success of the tightly focused Voice of San Diego, which relies on donors, offers a ray of hope for a troubled newspaper industry. Plagued by shrinking circulations and advertising, newspapers are shedding staff and downsizing their offerings. Even the pages have gotten smaller. By contrast, several nonprofit newspapers - though rare and often tiny - have sprung up in recent years both online and in print, funded largely by foundations and individual donors. The strategy of nonprofits like the Voice "may be one of the ways to preserve the integrity of journalism," says Dean Nelson, a journalism professor at San Diego's Point Loma Nazarene University.

Although Voice only attracts 17,000 readers a day, donors support it to the tune of $600,000. If its not a sustainable business model, we've got the Knight Foundation equally robust new media options.

Susan Herr