Since many prognosticators believe serious journalism is on financial life support, maybe what we need is philanthropy for news outlets. That’s not quite the program proposed by the online city politics newsletter the Austin Monitor, but its latest project puts another spin on the idea. The Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes the Monitor, last week announced a new partnership with GivingCity Austin, a news and features site covering local philanthropy. While the two sites will still report independently, the hope is that the partnership will give each platform broader public impact. CoTMF CEO Mike Kanin said in a press release, “We believe that GivingCity is an excellent addition to our mission of engagement and education.” GivingCity founder Monica Maldonado Williams added, “We think between the two organizations, more Central Texans will have the news and information they need to get more involved in the community.” One philanthropic/journalistic suggestion: Persuade more readers that reporters need to eat, and Content Isn’t Free …

Charitable Monitoring

A version of this article appeared in print on Nov 25, 2016 with the headline: Charitable Monitoring

This article appears in November 25 • 2016.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.