Journalism as a Public Good: How the Nonprofit News Model Can Save Us from Ourselves

Rosalie C. Westenskow, Edward L. Carter
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Abstract

At a time when many U.S. newspapers find themselves at the edge of a financial precipice, The Salt Lake Tribune’s recent transformation into a 501(c)(3) public charity presents a potentially promising route to economic safety for other daily newspapers. Although the nonprofit, tax-exempt model has been an increasingly popular one for new media outlets, the IRS’s bestowal of such status on a major daily newspaper marks an historic event — one that other newspapers, and their legal counsel, can learn from. This article outlines several issues such practitioners and owners should be aware of as they consider taking the leap to nonprofit status. The nonprofit route can have not only financial advantages for news publications, but it may also provide a better environment for cultivating the type of high-quality journalism that is essential to preserving our democracy. The legal requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations, as well as the ownership structure, have the potential to drive hard-hitting reporting on the most important issues, particularly for local publications, many of which are currently hemorrhaging such coverage. This article argues that journalism is a public good, and as such, a natural fit for the non-profit model.
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新闻业作为一种公共产品:非营利性新闻模式如何拯救我们
在许多美国报纸发现自己处于财务悬崖边缘的时候,《盐湖城论坛报》最近转变为501(c)(3)公共慈善机构,为其他日报提供了一条潜在的经济安全之路。尽管非营利的免税模式在新媒体中越来越受欢迎,但美国国税局给予一家主要日报这样的地位标志着一个历史性的事件——其他报纸及其法律顾问可以从中学习。这篇文章概述了一些问题,这样的从业者和业主应该意识到,因为他们考虑跨入非营利状态。非营利路线不仅可以为新闻出版物带来经济上的优势,而且还可以为培养对维护我们的民主至关重要的高质量新闻提供更好的环境。501(c)(3)组织的法律要求,以及所有权结构,有可能推动对最重要问题的强硬报道,特别是对当地出版物来说,许多地方出版物目前正在大量减少这类报道。本文认为,新闻业是一种公益事业,因此,它自然适合非营利模式。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
33.30%
发文量
7
期刊介绍: The societal, cultural, economic and political dimensions of communication, including the freedoms of speech and press, are undergoing dramatic global changes. The convergence of the mass media, telecommunications, and computers has raised important questions reflected in analyses of modern communication law, policy, and regulation. Serving as a forum for discussions of these continuing and emerging questions, Communication Law and Policy considers traditional and contemporary problems of freedom of expression and dissemination, including theoretical, conceptual and methodological issues inherent in the special conditions presented by new media and information technologies.
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