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This book examines the growth, impact and sustainability of not-for-profit investigative reporting and its impact on US democracy. It addresses key questions of the sustainability of foundation funding, the agendas of foundations, and the independence of philanthropically funded journalism.
List of contents
Foreword (Michael Schudson)
Chapter 1. Introduction: the changing face of watchdog journalism
Chapter 2. New collaborations: a mutual benefit
Chapter 3. Crashing through the firewall
Chapter 4. Saving journalism and democracy during the financial crisis
Chapter 5. Funding nonprofit accountability journalism
Chapter 6. Secondary factors promoting the creation of nonprofit accountability news centers
Chapter 7. Case studies of four national nonprofit investigative reporting centers
Chapter 8. On the ground with smaller nonprofit news organizations
Chapter 9. Ethical issues in foundation funding of journalism
Chapter 10. Flash in the pan or a sustainable business model?
About the author
Bill Birnbauer is an award-winning journalist and academic. He is a long-standing member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Journalism at Monash University, Australia. He was a metropolitan newspaper reporter and editor for three decades, has coproduced documentaries for public television and has written academic book chapters and journal articles as well as two other books.
Summary
This book examines the growth, impact and sustainability of not-for-profit investigative reporting and its impact on US democracy. It addresses key questions of the sustainability of foundation funding, the agendas of foundations, and the independence of philanthropically funded journalism.
Additional text
'Birnbauer’s [book] belongs on the shelf for anyone who wants to study and understand the nonprofit --phenomenon' --Rick Edmonds, media business analyst
'Birnbauer shines his own investigative light on one of the more important developments in the production of investigative reporting – foundation-supported, non-profit news outlets. He appropriately outlines the symbiotic relationship between legacy media and non-profit outlets. But he doesn’t pull punches, raising legitimate concerns about the independence of foundation-sponsored investigative journalism.' --James Aucoin, University of South Alabama, USA
'Birnbauer’s book, which draws from a deep dive into previous research about nonprofit journalism, as well as case studies of the Center for Investigative Reporting, ProPublica, Mother Jones, and Center for Public Integrity, overflows with valuable—and often surprising—information about news nonprofits. Birnbauer’s book does not function so much as a typical, argument-driven text as it does a de facto encyclopedia for all things related to nonprofit journalism.' --Jacob L Nelson, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, from Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
'Michael Schudson describes this book as a ‘gift’ to journalism studies. I agree. It will inform the international debate about philanthropic journalism into the future. Bravo!' --Penny O’Donnell, University of Sydney, from Australian Journalism Review
