Non-profit media

Here is an interesting NewsHour story.

The story mentions ProPublica, Center for Investigative Reporting and Center for Independent Media. The first two are especially worth bookmarking.

This tweaking of the media structure has potential, and it appears to be off to a good start. The NewsHour guests argued the model will have to become commercially sustainable and yet keep its independence. This move is really dangerous, though I see their point. The problem is that independence goes out the window when the medium becomes an asset. News rooms fired their investigative journalists in the first place because they were expensive, not entertaining, and often in conflict with commercial and political interests. The direct link between this type of independent investigative journalism and TV/Print/Radio is vital, as the first priority of public discourse should be public interest. The failure of our public discourse is the cause of all of our problems.