

Endow the News - tokenadult
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28swensen.html

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gravitycop
The meat:

 _As newspapers go digital, their business model erodes. A 2008 research
report from Sanford C. Bernstein & Company explained, “The notion that the
enormous cost of real news-gathering might be supported by the ad load of
display advertising down the side of the page, or by the revenue share from
having a Google search box in the corner of the page, or even by a 15-second
teaser from Geico prior to a news clip, is idiotic on its face.” [...]

Aside from providing stability, an endowment would promote journalistic
independence. The best-run news organizations insulate reporters from
pressures to produce profits or to placate advertisers. But endowed news
organizations would be in an ideal situation — with no pressure from
stockholders or advertisers at all.

How large an endowment would a newspaper need? The news-gathering operations
at The New York Times cost a little more than $200 million a year. Assuming
some additional outlay for overhead, it would require an endowment of
approximately $5 billion (assuming a 5 percent annual payout rate). Newspapers
with smaller newsrooms would require smaller endowments._

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anamax
> But endowed news organizations would be in an ideal situation with no
> pressure from stockholders or advertisers at all.

Endowed organizations face pressures too. Maybe they're better pressures, but
an account that fails to acknowledge that they exist doesn't strike me as one
that is particularly trustworthy.

As to the "enormous cost of newsgathering", didn't a past thread have staffing
numbers for the NYT? IIRC, out of some 10k employees, 350 were reporters. At
$300k/person, we're talking $100M. Since that 350 includes sports, society,
and other fluff.... (Of course, sports pays its way.)

~~~
gravitycop
_Endowed organizations face pressures too._

Yes. This (from Page 2 of the NYT article) is one of the many paragraphs I
left out of my excerpt:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28swensen.html?pag...](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/opinion/28swensen.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1)

 _One constraint on an endowed institution is the prohibition in the same law
against trying to “influence legislation” or “participate in any campaign
activity for or against political candidates.” While endowed newspapers would
need to refrain from endorsing candidates for public office, they would still
be free to participate forcefully in the debate over issues of public
importance. The loss of endorsements seems minor in the context of the
opinion-heavy Web._

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lacker
We are not "dangerously close to having a government without newspapers".
There are still hundreds of newspapers left. Heck, there isn't even a major US
city without its own newspaper headquartered there! What other major business
can you say that about?

When there are less American newspapers than American car companies, I will be
concerned.

~~~
gravitycop
_We are not "dangerously close to having a government without newspapers".
There are still hundreds of newspapers left._

Every print newspaper in the world is going out of business.
<http://news.google.com/news?q=newspapers+declining> Their owners - like the
owners of homes lately discovered to have been built over toxic waste dumps -
are stuck with something they cannot sell.

Yes, they still exist. Soon they will not.

