Can philanthropy save journalism?
That is the question leading Philanthropy Roundtable’s Spring 2014 issue. In an era when local newspapers have been laying off reporters left and right, and as the output of local news subsequently declines, new models for journalism have become more viable – and important – than ever.
On the leading edge of this wave of new-model journalism is the Franklin Center, which Weekly Standard journalist Jonathan V. Last recently profiled in the new issue (pp. 23, 24).
“Food stamps aren’t what they used to be,” Last writes, “They work like debit cards, which apparently opens a door to easy fraud and misuse.”
Thanks to an investigation by the Franklin Center’s New Mexico Watchdog in 2011, the public learned that these “electronic benefit transfer cards” were in fact being abused, with recipients using them at strip clubs, liquor stores, bars, and casinos. Local media quickly picked up the story and New Mexico’s House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at curbing the problem.
Last goes on to explain how Franklin Center president Jason Stverak founded the Franklin Center in 2009 when he realized that “a well functioning press was integral to keeping government honest, but that the world of local media was barely functioning anymore.” At the time, local newspapers nationwide had laid off a third of their reporters in the past four years, and total reporting output was down 80 percent since 2000.
To help fill the gap, the Franklin Center started the aforementioned news bureau called Watchdog.org, with journalist Will Swaim at the helm, to focus on breaking stories of consequence and find areas where government wasted taxpayer dollars. In its five years of existence, the Franklin Center has grown the Watchdog.org network to 40 full-time reporters who operate local bureaus in states from Florida to Vermont to Hawaii. The bureaus work virtually, using laptops and wireless cards in lieu of brick and mortar to keep costs down and stay nimble.
Two years ago, Last adds, the Franklin Center launched another program called Citizen Watchdog, which works to harness an oft-overlooked strength of 21st century journalism – news reported by citizens. Through its website, WatchdogWire.com, along with numerous training and outreach initiatives, Citizen Watchdog gives laymen a platform to report on their local government.
“We believed that if you equipped ordinary people – students, at-home moms, retirees – with the tools of journalism and provided them with training, a platform, and a marketing network, they could cover stories at the local level that the legacy media simply isn’t able to do,” says Stverak in Last’s article.
One of many Citizen Watchdog accomplishments so far is a series that exposed unsafe conditions at a Michigan abortion clinic and a cover-up at the Board of Medicine, which led to the removal of the provider’s medical license. The Michigan senate also unanimously passed legislation to give greater oversight. In other words, citizens directly spur real government action through the power of the press.
“Whether it’s harnessing the abilities of paid professionals or volunteers,” writes Last, “the mission is the same.”
He concludes with an excellent summary from Stverak: “Our goal is to make the media as a whole better and help citizens stay informed. Who covers the public service commission? Those things can be tedious and sometimes boring, but they have tremendous impact on the everyday lives of citizens and taxpayers.”
See more here.
This article was written by Andrew Collins, the Franklin Center’s Digital Media Manager, and reposted with his permission.