“Non-profit news” has a special ring to it, an Ivory Soap patina of “99 and 44/100% Pure.”
Consider the not-for-profit news outfits that have popped up across the U.S. over the past several years. They’re not beholden to Wall Street since they aren’t traded on the stock exchange. They might not be crippled by angry advertisers, because they run few, if any, ads. Many of them don’t charge for their content, so they don’t need to worry as much about circulation numbers.
Instead — at least in theory — they put principle over principal and focus on top-notch journalism. You know, the kind produced by elder statesman nonprofits like The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio and the Tampa Bay (formerly St. Petersburg) Times.
The reality: Non-for-profit outlets are vulnerable to pressure too. They can still be toppled by outside forces (fickle funders, miffed legislators) and their own failures (over-optimism, lack of business savvy, ego mismanagement).
As more journalism non-profits pop up — a new Pew Research Center report says 172 have appeared over the past quarter century — here are three things that independent writers should know about these potential clients:
1. They Might Be Rolling in Dough
Some journalism non-profits keep costs low by wooing young journalists who are cheaper, willing to work hard and able to adjust to changing times. Others mix it up by hiring a blend of old-timers, rookies and freelancers.
And then there are those that have big budgets and aren’t afraid to shower their workers — even freelancers — with lots of money.
The editor of ProPublica, for example, makes $585,000, while several reporters are well into the six-figure salary range. The editor of Texas Tribune clocks in at $307,000.
How do I know? Because non-profit 990 tax forms are available for free at Guide Star. If you want to freelance for a journalism nonprofit, check their budgets and negotiate accordingly.
2. They May Be on the Dole
Lawmakers will always be annoyed when journalists chap their hides. But now, thanks to a variety of government partnerships, they’ve gained more control over the budgets that pay and house these journalists.
The eternal battle over taxpayer funding of public broadcasting led to the resignation of National Public Radio’s well-regarded CEO in 2011 and became an issue in 2012’s presidential race. This month, Wisconsin legislators are trying to evict a nonprofit outlet from a university campus.
Nonprofit news outlets, especially fledgling ones, may have no choice but to take some government-tainted money as they become established.
Over time, they should diversify their funding and stop being so vulnerable to the very powers that they should be battering every day. Until then, they — like NPR and PBS — are vulnerable to political grandstanding, conflicts of interests and never-ending distractions. And we’re sure to see even more battles as media organizations continue trying to cozy up to universities and taxpayers.
3. You Can Figure Out Who Funds Them — Maybe
You’ll sometimes hear nonprofit outlets brag about how they disclose the identities of funders, unlike some other types of media. You’ll rarely see a newspaper, for example, disclose that a car dealership is an advertiser in a story about its new showroom.
But there’s a difference.
Newspapers typically have dozens or hundreds of advertisers, while a non-profit website may only have a handful of big-time donors, often movers-and-shakers with political agendas of their own. As wealthy and powerful people in their communities, they may become topics of news coverage by the outlets they support.
Even if there’s a list of donors online, it’s often impossible to find out how much they donate each year. Is it 20 percent of the organization’s budget? Half? And what happens if news stories are about them? Are their donations specifically disclosed or are readers (or viewers or listeners) supposed to do the work of figuring out who in a story is paying the reporter’s salary?
If a journalism nonprofit is committed to openness, you should be able to find plenty of information about its funding on its website, including current financial statements, donor rules (look for restrictions on anonymous donors) and conflict-of-interest policies.
If a nonprofit journalism outlet is transparent, there’s a better chance that it’s trustworthy too. That might give you more confidence in the important thing of all: the likelihood that its checks will clear.