Rise of NonProfit Investigative Journalism in the United States

"The Rise of Nonprofit Investigative Journalism in the United States examines the rapid growth, impact and sustainability of not-for-profit investigative reporting and its impact on US democracy and mainstream journalism. The book addresses key questions about the sustainability of foundation funding, the agendas of foundations, and the independence of philanthropically funded journalism. It provides a theoretical framework that enables readers to recognize connections and relationships that the nonprofit accountability journalism sector has with the economic, political and mainstream media fields in the United States. As battered news media struggled to survive the financial crisis of 2007-2009, dozens of investigative and public service reporting startups funded by foundations, billionaires and everyday citizens were launched to scrutinize local, state and national issues. Foundations, donors and many journalists believed there was a crisis for investigative journalism and democracy in the United States. This book challenges this and argues that legacy editors acted to quarantine their investigative teams from newsroom cuts, whilst also demonstrating how nonprofit journalism transformed aspects of journalistic practice. Through detailed research, it examines the nonprofit investigative journalism sector from a theoretical and practical perspective, providing a comprehensive study of this increasingly important genre of journalism. This is an important text for academics and students of journalism, communications theory, media and democracy-related units, as well as journalists worldwide"--