Shaking the Foundations, in Search of Journalism

Is there a foundation in your journalistic future?

Sunday's New York Times business cover piece by Clifford Krauss on That Little Non-Profit Engine That Can, the St. Petersburg Times, makes a case there may be. The article talks about the historic decision of Nelson Poynter to turn his profitable enterprise into a community gift, and how this seeming anachronism may be a pilot light for our times.

With newspaper company margins descending from the 20%+ level, such community-based, journalism-funding ideas are now becoming thinkable. And when billionaries like Eli Broad -- a potential bidder for the L.A. Times once Sam Zell closes his Tribune deal -- support that case, it only gets more interesting.

Said Broad:

"You could create a nonprofit newspaper and have a number of foundations be contributors to the nonprofit.”

Put that together with small-scale experiments like MinnPost, the Joel Kramer-led online-only journalism site soon to launch in the Twin Cities, and we see the emergence of, well, new business models.

In the Twin Cities, Kramer tells me that, ahead of launch, "We have 186 annual donors totaling more than $63,000 right now, on top of the 4 founders who gave $850,000 and the Knight grant of $250,000.

Kramer says MinnPost did not set a specific membership target for 2007, but did make a projection in its Knight Foundation application, a prediction of 250 annual members contributing $75,000.

So it seems that business model may just be a new twist on the old one of advertiser and reader support. In this case, though, it's a little money from angels, a little from foundations, a little from members, and an increasing ramp from advertising, and you have something new, maybe in the nick of time.