A New Media Model

How common are nonprofit news gathering Web sites like The Connecticut News Project (www.ctmirror.org) that goes live Jan. 25? Where did the idea come from to organize this Web site? Where did the Web site name come from? It seems reminiscent of the Times Mirror Co.

Nonprofit news sites are becoming a regular part of the new media landscape. The Internet has made startups of all types viable. We are a subject matter news site, which like the Web itself, transcends geography. The name came from a collaborative brainstorming session by the staff. It’s meant to suggest that the news site will reflect those issues that are important to Connecticut residents, their families and communities.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is providing $300,000 and The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven are providing matching funds. Could the Connecticut News Project get off the ground without this support?

The foundations supporting the effort include Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Community Information Challenge, Melville Charitable Trust, San Francisco Foundation, Seedlings Foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. We are very grateful for the generous support of our founding foundations, certainly for their financial support, but also for the validation they lend and the ongoing value-added that comes from their intimate knowledge of Connecticut’s communities. We hope to expand our foundation support and build a sustainable business model that also enjoys revenue from sponsorships, partnerships and donor contributions.

Will it always be a free site or will any of the content be walled off, as with the Wall Street Journal?

Our goal is to make our content ubiquitous. We want it to be available to all Connecticut residents whether they live in urban, suburban or rural communities. Therefore, we will not put up a wall of any kind. In fact we plan to “push” the content though a variety of technologies and platforms and in as many languages as possible. We will need the help of media, outreach and community partners to accomplish this.

The Connecticut News Project plans to provide professional reporting on Connecticut’s legislature and executive branches. Is there an online market for this information that delivers enough readership?

We believe this is “need-to-know” information that will inform key decisions made by Connecticut residents such as how they vote and evaluate their representatives and hold their government accountable. We believe there is a market for this information, not just in Connecticut but across the country. It’s how a democratic system is supposed to work. As for readership, we believe the reach will be significant as we will be the only statewide news organization delivering this news. With the help of distribution partners, other media, community groups and organizations and through a variety of platforms and technologies, we think we can deliver our content to the 3.5 million people who live in Connecticut.

What is the ultimate long-term goal of The Connecticut News Project? Will it seek to supplant publications like The Hartford Courant and television and radio stations that cover state government to become the prime source of news?

We believe our ability to focus on government, politics and public policy will complement the broader range of traditional media coverage. Far from being adversaries, we are forming partnerships with other organizations to reach the broadest possible audience.