March 2015
From an Interview with Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR)
Atsushi Shibata
In the United States, with the economic slump and digitalization of news-gathering/reporting having forced news organizations to decrease the numbers of journalists and directors, it is pointed out that media’s watchdog function against the authority and corruption is faltering. Against this backdrop, “nonprofit news organizations” that do not pursue their own interests are attracting attention. A well-known example is ProPublica that won back-to-back Pulitzer Prizes. The characteristics of these organizations are (1) using the Internet as their main playing field, (2) being supported by diverse revenue sources including donations and funds from foundations, and (3) reporting news of specific regions or topics.
California-based Center for Investigative Reporting, CIR, was established in 1977, a pioneer of the nonprofit media. It boasts the largest number of staff in this field—around 70 persons—in the United States. CIR’s activities are marked with two aspects: “multiplatform” on which they develop their content in various ways and “collaboration” with other media organizations in reporting and transmitting news. One of their campaign series On Shaky Ground that reported the inadequate anti-seismic structure of public school buildings in California State fully utilized these two strengths and produced strong public reaction. Executive Director Robert Rosenthal (66) says that it is important for the media organizations put themselves in the position of diversifying information recipients and deliver the content in every possible format including text, image, sound, CG, and animation. Mr. Rosenthal also remarked about the significance of the creation of a sustainable business model in which quality journalism leads to appropriate earnings. The author reports how nonprofit organizations have started playing a vital role as the media that “collaborate and supplement each other” with newspapers and television.