Non-profit news

[dixiehack]

Non-profit news is "the answer" until Republicans fully catch on and fund their own non-profit news orgs. Imagine the University of Austin in every other town as a news org.

We have more than one of those in our state already, maybe not strictly nonprofit but subsidized to a fare-thee-well. (God help anyone getting their information from the likes of Yellowhammer News.) More subtle but still insidious are "good news" sites like Alabama NewsCenter, which is bankrolled by the monopoly electric company and regards good news as that which pitches commercial and economic development as always positive regardless of any government giveaways needed.

 

[Azrael]

Imagine the University of Austin in every other town as a news org.

Plenty of right wing news outlets in plenty of towns now.

Not sure that a non-profit business model will change that.

 

[Azrael]

$500 million

https://www.axios.com/2023/09/07/press-forward-launch-save-local-journalism

 

[Azrael]

 

[Regan MacNeil]

More bad news.

https://x.com/maxwelltani/status/1704649901458506006?s=20

 

[Azrael]

More bad news.

https://x.com/maxwelltani/status/1704649901458506006?s=20

It's a pretty good newsorg, but it's in a competitive market. Presumably the big donors want to see it stand on its own.

THE CITY — NYC News

We'll see.

 

[Azrael]

Good flyover from the Post here.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/22/local-journalism-grants-millions/

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

The New Haven Independent has been doing a non-profit news model for 20 years (maybe more) and covers the Elm City better than the Register.

 

[Bubbler]

Kind of both.

And don't worry - it'd have exactly the political lean NPR does. The national press - in every local community.

Non-profit news is "the answer" until Republicans fully catch on and fund their own non-profit news orgs. Imagine the University of Austin in every other town as a news org.

That's the way it used to be. Why so many cities and towns have Republican and Democrat in their names.

 

[Azrael]

https://reutersinstitute.politics.o...-consumers-look-value-amid-cost-living-crisis

This report uses survey data from 20 countries and qualitative research from the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), and Germany to explore who is paying for news content online, which publications they pay for, how much they pay, and what motivations they have for subscribing or donating to news.

We focus, in particular, on how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting willingness to pay for online news, through talking to those who have cancelled their subscriptions over the last 12 months as well as those who have maintained subscriptions during this period. We also look at the prospects for attracting new subscribers amid this economic downturn and ask what approaches, if any, might persuade these reluctant consumers to pay for online news in the future. Finally, we use insights from our research to explore ways in which the publishing industry could adapt current strategies around news payment.

Key findings:

• Across most of the 20 countries we analyse, payment for online news is levelling off with high levels of cancellation strongly linked to the cost-of-living crisis.
• Low-price introductory offers are effective at attracting new subscribers but many struggle to see the value when it comes to renewal and paying the full sticker price.
• Long-term news subscribers tend to be male, older, richer, and better educated, with a strong interest in news and politics. Younger subscribers tend to pay less and are more likely to make donations than older groups.
• News subscribers are attracted by a combination of distinctive high-quality, curated, and exclusive content, identification with the brand, a desire to support quality journalism, and a higher-quality user experience.
• Around half of non-subscribers say that nothing could persuade them to pay for online news, but others could be attracted by a lower price, more relevant content, or less cluttered (ad-free) websites and apps.
• For some people the value of news subscriptions is partly conditioned by the amount and quality of free content (from both commercial and public service outlets) available in a market, as well as by the price and experience of entertainment services such as TV, sport, and music.

 

[Azrael]

 

[playthrough]

My town has a new nonprofit news org, they posted an arts and culture reporter job with a very solid salary. When I saw that I shot a note to an editor I know there and said "if you ever expand into sports ... "