Amid the decimation of local newspapers, something remarkable is happening.
The Seattle Times and some other legacy newspapers are rebuilding and enlarging investigative teams supplementing their for-profit business with charitable support. This is one way that newspapers, after being gutted by economic disruptions, are finding a way to continue their critical role providing public-service and accountability journalism.
It’s too soon to say this is a solution to the journalism crisis. The industry is still contracting as it awaits structural changes, such as antitrust enforcement and reforms, to give local newspapers a shot at building digital ad businesses. But the success of this approach at newspapers, and the growth of stand-alone investigative news nonprofits such as ProPublica, show the wide support and interest in sustaining this work.
Take it from Carolyn Edwards, a retired teacher in Kirkland who twice donated to The Seattle Times Investigative Journalism Fund. “Journalism is the only way we get any kind of accountability for our government officials — we are losing newspapers right and left,” Edwards told me last week. “I don’t think people appreciate how much legwork it takes.”
Since the IJF was announced in September 2019, it raised $1.82 million from nearly 900 donors, mostly individuals plus larger gifts from several charitable foundations. That’s enabled The Times’ investigative team to more than double, with six investigative reporters and editors currently funded by the IJF.
Others with similar investigative funds include The Miami Herald and the publisher of The Advocate and The Times Picayune in Louisiana.
The real hope is that the papers are building a more sustainable business model. In Seattle, The Times has pursued a hybrid business model, with philanthropic support for special reporting projects, for a decade. That led to “labs” focused on topics like education, transportation, homelessness and mental health, supported by grants.
The IJF took a new approach by seeking support from the community at large. It is also hosted by a nonprofit, the Seattle Foundation, so donations are tax deductible.
That’s enabled the newsroom to recover somewhat from downsizing over the last decade as the traditional advertising business evaporated. Currently 27 of the newsroom’s approximately 170 employees are funded this way. For context, the newsroom is about half the size it was when I was hired in 1998.
‘This work saves lives’
Community support has especially helped the investigative team recover. At one point it shrank to just a few employees after cutbacks and attrition. Having a dedicated investigative team enables an outlet to dig deeper and spend more time reporting complex and important stories.
Investigative teams bolster entire newsrooms, by adding team members with specialized skills such as expertise in obtaining public records or analyzing data. They also help a newsroom’s culture.
“It’s not an exaggeration at all to say this work saves lives,” said Michele Matassa Flores, executive editor at The Times.
Investigative stories by The Times have exposed sports coaches abusing children, logging practices that precipitated the deadly Oso landslide and design and oversight flaws that led to deadly Boeing 737 Max crashes.
Yet investigative work is also the most time consuming, difficult and expensive work the paper does. Investigations can take months or years of staff time. They may also require legal expenses, such as lawsuits fighting for access to public records.
That’s why substantial investigative teams are rare, especially as newspapers cut to the bone to survive. It’s also why the success of these new funding models is so encouraging, and why the public’s support is so appreciated.
Brier Dudley is editor of The Seattle Times Save the Free Press Initiative. Its weekly newsletter: https://st.news/FreePressNewsletter. Reach him at bdudley@seattletimes.com
