Texas Oil Man T. Boone Pickens at UMD - Photo Brian Hooks
Unlike posts of the past, this will focus on an organization that has yet to launch. But, only a few weeks before its world premier, The Texas Tribune has already started to receive some flack from around the professional journalism world. With a mission “to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern” how could they go wrong–right?
The Tribune sets out its goals on its rough draft site, citing issues across the board –immigration, education, transportation, health care, water, the environment, criminal justice, energy, poverty– the whole nine yards. It’s understandable how journalists who have been in cohorts with ad-revenue outlets for their entire careers would be skeptical of donation run journalism.
The Tribune’s “selling” point is like a trip down Jour 100 lane:
“Like clean air and clean water—undeniable public goods—journalism in the public interest is too vital to a civilized society, to a functioning democracy, to be left to the vagaries of the free market.”
The Huffington Post ran a blog by John Thornton, one of the key investors of the Tribune, in which he defends non-profit news. Thornton discusses the pitfalls of having advertisers at the reins of a major news outlet that can no longer afford its top 10% of journalists. I should note, the post also seems to be a set up for a two paragraph promo for his brainchild (the Tribune).
John Thornton again in an October posted a response to a critique by Slate’s Jack Shafer, where Thornton says, “the forty years between Kennedy and Clinton were an accident of economic and demographic history … great journalism thrived in a relatively monopolistic industry structure, because there was plenty to go around for editors and shareholders.”
Shafer cites a book from 1999 by James Ledbetter, where Ledbetter mocks National Public Radio’s mission statement created in 1971 as being too idealistic. Ledbetter says the statement sounds as if it were made by “existential psychologists” rather than journalists or businessmen. Shafer goes on to claim that non-profit donors wish to reap “psychic income” as opposed to the monetary capital of their advertising counterparts. Shafer explains, “they want to feel that their money has done good, or at least caused ‘evil’ some pain.”
I think Shafer should speak to former president of NPR, and Philip Merrill College of Journalism DEAN Kevin Klose, who brought in a cool $200 million to the company after the death of philanthropist–and hamburger lady– Joan Kroc. That’s right, no income for Kroc, psychic or non-psychic. Shafer might also want to take note how Klose helped to DOUBLE listeners of NPR in the ten years that followed Ledbetter’s snarky analysis.
AND I DIGRESS… but all in all, the Tribune has over $3 million in contributions, making it in the same general range of other non-profits (Voice of San Diego, MinnPost, St. Louis Beacon, Washington Independent ) just fitting into diapers. We shall see what direction the Tribune takes in its first steps early November, hopefully I will have good news.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Of course! The more the merrier :)