The Washington Independent announced today that it will be closing down by December 1 due to a lack of funding, the Columbia Journalism Review revealed.

In a post published on its website, Washington Independent editor Aaron Wiener wrote that the website "was not just a journalistic experiment; it was also a financial one, and ultimately, the successes of the former couldn't sustain the strains of the latter."

The news site launched in January of 2008 as a part of the American Independent News Network and it relied on donations and grants, primarily from foundations seeking to promote journalism in the public interest," Wiener explained. "Those donations began drying up long ago."

According to media reports, The New Mexico Independent was also shut down today. "The New Mexico Independent as you know it is now closed. The site will remain live, possibly with a half-time blogger. Deepest apologies," Editor Gwyneth Doland wrote on Twitter, Alibi.com revealed.

David Bennahum, the president and CEO of The American Independent News Network, said donations for New Mexico news site decreased from US$187,000 in 2008 to $32,500 in 2010, nmpolitics.net quoted.