Knight Foundation discusses non-profit ventures

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM

In a publication made available online yesterday, the Knight Foundation has detailed possible non-profit local and regional news ventures.

Saving traditional news organisations cannot be helped by the non-profit model; instead, creating and strengthening "informed communities and local information ecosystems, of which journalism is a necessary component" is the type of venture that non-profits can possibly be of help with, the U.S.-based organisation states, the foundation notes. The publication is based on an April 26 meeting sponsored by the Knight Foundation and co-hosted by the Texas Tribune, Voice of San Diego and Knight Chair in Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin.

The non-profit model, if done correctly, helps organisations "to pursue a journalistic mission without the competing demands of operating a for-profit business." The publication points out that the foundation has funded more than 200 experiments using a so-called "built to learn" approach.

Panelist Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, pointed out to the non-profit model being discussed is not a solution meant to fix the news industry's financial woes.

"It isn't for us a question of finding the model, but of experimenting with a lot of different models," he said.

Examples of start-up models include the Voice of San Diego, the Texas Tribune, the Chicago News Cooperative, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, and more. Start-ups either begin with enough financial backing and support, enabling them to better address challenges at the beginning, or with limited resources, which limits their ability to address challenges. However, in the long-term, both groups will face similar challenges.

One major challenge is adaptability - continuing to stay on top of technological and reader trends. Being willing and able to change course is important, even after an organisation leaves its status as a start-up, Buzz Wolley, chairman of the board at Voice of San Diego, told the panel.

Of those attending the meeting, most thought building new revenue streams of corporate sponsors was most important, followed by building membership revenue streams. This was followed by innovating and/or incorporating new technology, and developing new and deeper ways to engage the community.

For more on the Knight Foundation's meeting, as well as a free copy of the report, visit the publication's website.