Editorial offices should go to the sticks
Investigative journalism increasingly needs private funding. In the U.S., the foundation model is already Pulitzer Prize-worthy; in Europe, it is at least socially acceptable; and now it has been announced in Russia as well. Even in Switzerland, the seeds of such an initiative have already been sown. Guest commentary by Oliver Classen, press spokesperson for the development policy organization Declaration of Bern and former media editor.
Journalism that takes its democratic function as the "fourth estate" seriously and fulfills it requires not only good craftsmanship, but above all time and money. And investigative journalism needs a little more of all three ingredients. At the same time, editorial offices and publishing houses today are subject to an almost North Korean red pencil regime. The entire profession is suffering as a result, as is the quality of its politically highly relevant products. Accordingly, the news around four years ago sounded almost too good to be true: The long-time editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal and the wealthy Sandler couple are setting up a foundation endowed with 30 million dollars to fund investigative journalism.
However, the groundbreaking project was only really noticed in the industry when Pro Publica was awarded the Pulitzer Prize this April for a story about the scandalous conditions in a hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More than two years of research and 400,000 dollars went into this scoop, which was first published on Propublica.org at the end of August 2009 and then in the New York Times magazine. The name "Pro Publica" therefore says it all: In the service of a critical public, the aim is to observe politics and business as centers of power, uncover misconduct and initiate change for the better.
The financing of "Pro Publica" is secured until the end of 2012. And not only thanks to the Sandlers. The list of donors includes such illustrious institutions as the Ford Foundation of the car giant of the same name, the Hewlett Foundation of the Texan computer magnate and the foundation of a law firm working for Coca-Cola, Shell, Google and General Motors, among others. It says so on the website, because transparency is the top priority of these journalistic pioneers. The problem of possible influence still exists, of course, but it is less than in conventional publishing houses with influential advertising clients. If the donors do PR on their own behalf, then it is rightly as sponsors of relevant, future-oriented investigative journalism. Incidentally, every ideal investor signs a legally binding pledge to stay out of all editorial decisions.
Donor-funded editorial offices are also gradually gaining a foothold in Europe. The "Bureau of Investigative Journalism" in London successfully began its work at the end of April and uncovered blatant abuses in the British healthcare system in the fall. The nobility was then struck by its natural competitor Wikileaks, which sent the Bureau all the war logs from Iraq for analysis at the same time as the Guardian. Also inspired by the Wikileaks phenomenon, the Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev has now set up a "Glasnost" foundation for independent investigative journalism. The fact that the enterprising banker holds 49 percent of the opposition Novaya Gazeta and recently bought the Independent and the Evening Standard in England shows that he knows what he is doing: The man knows what he is doing and believes in the future and necessity of "funding journalism".
He shares this conviction with Jürg Vollmer, initiator of "Maiak" and so far the only editor of the only donation-financed Swiss media project. However, the Zurich-based "Newsroom for Eastern Europe", which was launched in mid-2009, provides background reports on post-Soviet transition countries, from which there is otherwise hardly any reporting, rather than scoops. This is because "Maiak" has to make do with an annual budget of 150,000 francs, which comes from the "Swiss-Russian Society". Such interesting but harmless experiments in honor: What is needed in notoriously entangled Switzerland is more and better investigative journalism. This core finding of the current quality debate is undisputed. The rhetorical question remains as to where professional "funding journalism" is more financially viable than in the country of 12,000 foundations with a capital of over 30 billion Swiss francs.
However, the groundbreaking project was only really noticed in the industry when Pro Publica was awarded the Pulitzer Prize this April for a story about the scandalous conditions in a hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More than two years of research and 400,000 dollars went into this scoop, which was first published on Propublica.org at the end of August 2009 and then in the New York Times magazine. The name "Pro Publica" therefore says it all: In the service of a critical public, the aim is to observe politics and business as centers of power, uncover misconduct and initiate change for the better.
The financing of "Pro Publica" is secured until the end of 2012. And not only thanks to the Sandlers. The list of donors includes such illustrious institutions as the Ford Foundation of the car giant of the same name, the Hewlett Foundation of the Texan computer magnate and the foundation of a law firm working for Coca-Cola, Shell, Google and General Motors, among others. It says so on the website, because transparency is the top priority of these journalistic pioneers. The problem of possible influence still exists, of course, but it is less than in conventional publishing houses with influential advertising clients. If the donors do PR on their own behalf, then it is rightly as sponsors of relevant, future-oriented investigative journalism. Incidentally, every ideal investor signs a legally binding pledge to stay out of all editorial decisions.
Donor-funded editorial offices are also gradually gaining a foothold in Europe. The "Bureau of Investigative Journalism" in London successfully began its work at the end of April and uncovered blatant abuses in the British healthcare system in the fall. The nobility was then struck by its natural competitor Wikileaks, which sent the Bureau all the war logs from Iraq for analysis at the same time as the Guardian. Also inspired by the Wikileaks phenomenon, the Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev has now set up a "Glasnost" foundation for independent investigative journalism. The fact that the enterprising banker holds 49 percent of the opposition Novaya Gazeta and recently bought the Independent and the Evening Standard in England shows that he knows what he is doing: The man knows what he is doing and believes in the future and necessity of "funding journalism".
He shares this conviction with Jürg Vollmer, initiator of "Maiak" and so far the only editor of the only donation-financed Swiss media project. However, the Zurich-based "Newsroom for Eastern Europe", which was launched in mid-2009, provides background reports on post-Soviet transition countries, from which there is otherwise hardly any reporting, rather than scoops. This is because "Maiak" has to make do with an annual budget of 150,000 francs, which comes from the "Swiss-Russian Society". Such interesting but harmless experiments in honor: What is needed in notoriously entangled Switzerland is more and better investigative journalism. This core finding of the current quality debate is undisputed. The rhetorical question remains as to where professional "funding journalism" is more financially viable than in the country of 12,000 foundations with a capital of over 30 billion Swiss francs.
