Journalism's Not Dead Yet

Part of what journalists are reporting as their profession drowns is the story of how their profession is drowning.

Some are writing about the disastrous effect it will have on our democracy. Others talk about who deserves blame for the debacle. Still others, however, are discussing what to do about it and coming up with a lot of new ideas. 

James T. Hamilton writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a recent meeting of media and nonprofit leaders at Duke University involved discussion of how our federal government could help by making it easier for daily newspapers to turn into nonprofits. The IRS could implement tax guidelines to clarify the matter. And Congress could get a move on in establishing parameters for new forms of semi-nonprofit enterprises, such as the low-profit limited liability (L3C) corporation, which enables a company to maintain a reasonable balance between making profits and following a mission.

Mr. Hamilton notes that, "A newspaper run as a L3C could draw many different types of investors." Combining investors who demand fidelity to the mission with those more interested in bottom-line performance will motivate the organization to balance idealism with practicality.

Despite this promising picture, however, not a single media source has become an L3C because the guidelines are not yet clear. What is clear is that journalism's not dead yet. And as a bonus, figuring out how to save it from drowning will give all those reporters out there plenty more to write about.

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