For decades, journalism has served as an instrument for accountability. Without journalists, the public would be uninformed about the actions of its leaders and would be unable to make informed decisions when voting and advocating change.
Recently, the business models of print- media organizations have been suffering from the changing technological landscape. News organizations’ profits have decreased significantly and the future of print media is threatened by large layoffs and dwindling coverage of important news topics.
One business model that is becoming more popular among suffering media outlets is nonprofit. Various nonprofit investigative journalism organizations have emerged and are often associated with for-profit organizations. Media outlets such as The Huffington Post, with the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, are launching their own nonprofit ventures in an effort to revive the quality and prolificacy of investigative journalism. The newest addition to the nonprofit family is the Watchdog Institute, an independent, nonpartisan organization housed in the San Diego State School of Journalism & Media Studies.
The Watchdog Institute is the brainchild of former The San Diego Union-Tribune senior editor, Lorie Hearn. Hearn, along with two reporters and one data-specialist, make up the Watchdog Institute team, which works to produce data-driven investigative projects. The information the team finds is forwarded to media outlets and used to write stories.
SDSU is not funding the operation. Rather, in exchange for office space, the Watchdog Institute will offer student internships, mentoring, help in the development of a master’s program in investigative journalism and Hearn and her colleagues will serve as guest lecturers in journalism classes.
The ambitions of the Watchdog Institute have great potential for journalism students and the local community. The institute receives funding by donations of individuals and other media organizations and its current lead partner is UT. So far, the research conducted by the institute has been used solely for their stories. Such an alliance can be problematic. The institute specifically catering to the UT defies its claim of independence, and while Hearn has stressed the institute is independent of the local newspaper, its actions otherwise thus far show.
While the UT is saving a small amount of money by Hearn and two reporters leaving the newspaper, it seems to be getting the same type of work from the team at an overall lower price. UT editor Karin Winner has even called the partnership beneficial, despite losing two integral staff members. There is no record as to how much the UT contributed and how much the institute may be receiving from other unnamed donors. This would not be an issue if it were not for the possible tax breaks the UT could receive from financing the nonprofit and the reality that a significant amount of the institute’s work will be given exclusively to the UT before being made available to other media outlets.
The greatest obstacle facing the institute is the issue of sustainability. According to www.voiceofsandiego.org, Hearn has said she does not believe that giving the information to all media outlets for free and at the same time is a practical business model. While this approach allows for a more sustainable future for the organization, it may violate Internal Revenue Service guidelines concerning nonprofits and stating that its work cannot benefit or favor the parent for-profit organization.
Other nonprofits, such as The Huffington Post Investigative Fund, have had to come to terms with remaining a legally separate entity from its parent for-profit organizations. For example, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund will be required to make its work available to both The Huffington Post and other publishers simultaneously.
While the Watchdog Institute’s ambitions are admirable, the business model of the organization needs reform. Hearn cannot continue to call her new business venture independent and nonpartisan when she intends to give the UT priority to her team’s research. This exemplifies a non-transparent and unfair business model for journalism students. As an investigative reporter, Hearn should be more focused on providing transparency in her business’ funding and work toward a fair distribution of the institute’s findings.
8212;Renee Villasenor is a journalism senior.
8212;This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to opinion@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Include your full name, major and year in school.
