logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Nonprofit-News Pioneer Sees Promise in Non-Profit News Done by Advocacy, Membership Groups

Rick Cohen
June 9, 2010

June 8, 2010; Source: First Amendment Coalition | It’s sort of the opposite of Mel Brooks intoning, “It’s good to be the king.” It’s often hard—really hard—to be nonprofit, including a nonprofit newspaper. A former reporter for the Oregonian and the News & Observer, Jim Barnett tried to launch a nonprofit news service. Apparently, Barnett no longer has the nonprofit news service, but has a blog (the Nonprofit Road), and is working on his master’s in nonprofit management at the George Washington University in DC. A busy man, he also works as a night editor at the Washington Post and advisor to the AARP’s publications group.

As his blog and his comments on other sites make clear, he may be working on building some nonprofit management skills, but he’s an unabashed advocate for nonprofits running news sites. In this article, he suggests that “the non-profit model does as good a job as any of matching newspapers’ ability to take risks, throwing reporters and resources at a story without any promise of financial return.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

He contends that some nonprofit journalism might come from groups that aren’t located in journalism, such as Human Rights Watch and the American Red Cross. Regarding the latter, he says that the ARC is representative of nonprofits that “use the tools of journalism as a means of accountability and transparency to donors.”

Maybe Barnett has discovered an ARC that many recent donors wouldn’t recognize, or maybe Barnett has become a no-holds-barred advocate of anything with an “org” at the end of its website address. But one shouldn’t confuse nonprofits that practice transparency and accountability, hopefully better than the American Red Cross, with nonprofits engaged in the practice of investigating and reporting on the news.—Rick Cohen

About the author
Rick Cohen

Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.

More about: Nonprofit News

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Beyond Wishful Thinking: How to Build Lasting Youth Political Infrastructure
Katie Kirchner
A Board’s Bold Leap: Radical Change and the Power of Trust
Lissa Jones-Lofgren
Beyond Dialogue: Igniting Racial Justice in a Shifting Political Landscape
Hiram Williams Figueroa
How Can a Perpetual Purpose Trust Build Community?
April De Simone, Adriana Abizadeh, Kevin Clegg and Paul MacArthur
In Asheville, A Community Gathers to Consider What “Resiliency” Requires
Steve Dubb
US Nonprofit Sector Documents Its Own Powerlessness, but What Will We Do?
Tom Tresser

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
A piggy bank wearing a graduation hat and standing on a pile of cash, symbolizing how endowments for academic institutions can be accessed in difficult times.
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely...
Ellen P. Aprill
Saving AmeriCorps: What’s at Stake and Why We Must Act Now
Hillary Kane
A building on Harvard University’s campus in Cambridge, MA, the wealthiest university in the world.
US Colleges and Universities Have Billions Stashed Away in...
Todd L. Ely

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.