When the Rocky Mountain News closed earlier this year, I have to admit, I'd never heard of it. Someone from Colorado brought it up in my politics class, and I soon realized that the closure was a pretty big deal.
This Denver news site has an article published yesterday about Colorado Public News, a new news website for the area. The site is in the process of raising money, so the link sends you to a "beta version" for now.
The site contains a note to visitors:
We are just getting started. Like public television, we are raising funds from the community to support our project. Once we have hit our goal, we will publish every week.
...So what's the big deal?
The big deal is -- their approach.
"The concept: Instead of going it alone, CPN has formed a nonprofit partnership with Channel 12, an adventurous public-television station."
This is an attempt to secure enough revenue to be able to produce investigative journalism. The model was inspired a lot by Voice of San Diego. So what are the perks?
- Channel 12 would commit to providing approximately a quarter of CPN's annual budget, currently set at $2.2 million.
- The station would also broadcast a regular, thirty-minute CPN show that would both promote the website and presumably legitimize it in the minds of possible donor organizations and individuals.
Sounds pretty sweet to me!
This model seems exactly like what the area needs. People want a credible news source that is hip to technology, and CPN is going to fill that want. Recruiting well-known professionals for the staff can't hurt either. The people, business model and attitude of this organization are what new media is all about.
"We're asking people to get involved in the creation of this product -- to call us, e-mail us, comment on the stories," she says. "It's the first step in trying to use social media to develop the journalism that's on the site as well."
