Nonprofit News Site Says Journalism Alive and Well
Editorial in the nonprofit voiceofsandiego.org, using itself as an example in its third year, contends:
…there has been much natural consternation about the fate of the press in this country.
But many of the biggest worriers have gotten one thing seriously wrong: They have assumed that a drop in the circulation numbers for some newspapers was indicative of the public’s lack of interest in the stories that print newspapers have long felt obligated to write.
There are many questions worrying citizens: Does falling circulation at the Los Angeles Times mean that people are becoming less interested in investigative news? Did falling readership of the print edition of the The San Diego Union-Tribune mean that local in-depth news was no longer something people wanted to read?
The answer to both of these is a resounding “No!” While there is ample evidence of a decline in newspaper readership, there is no evidence that people are consuming less news.
In fact, there is ample proof that Americans have merely found more efficient ways to get the news they’re interested in.
Then a little self back patting:
It was from this set of realities that voiceofsandiego.org sprung. Several months ago, we celebrated our second anniversary. Since we first put up our site in February 2005, more than 640 San Diegans have given donations and become members of voiceofsandiego.org.
Our dedicated young staff observed the start of our third year as quietly as old bay-front fishermen. It was an anniversary that skeptics had gambled we would never reach.
But we have brought San Diegans an independent online daily unburdened by thuds of heavy paper and smeary ink — one that can be updated every hour.
As we continue to handle the attention from people across the nation who are wondering how to solve the same problem with which we wrestle, we have not forgotten what our mission is: To provide San Diegans with in-depth news, fact-based commentary and continuous updates throughout the day of the narratives we introduce every time we publish.
