Although I don’t find it particularly revolutionary, I do like the format of the newly launched NPR.org. I was also quite intrigued when my friend Jeff Jarvis pointed me to Newsweek’s interview with former NYT.com honcho and relatively new NPR CEO Vivian Schiller. In it she talks about about the benefits of being a non-profit, as well as the fact that 501c3 isn’t a panacea for anything. And she addresses (without so naming it) the “monstrous hybrid” concept of the NYT (or any for-profit daily) accepting foundation money. It is in my mind absolutely indistinguishable from the McDonald’s asking the gates foundation for $1b, and promising to spend it only on lettuce and tomatoes.
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July 29, 2009 at 5:30 am |
I’m not sure about the “monstrous hybrid” idea. There have been numerous public-private partnerships that have worked well together over the years; the devil is in the details, and what kind of work the partnership was created to address.
There is a middle ground between being 100% independent and having, “The NY Times — brought to you by, Toyota.” It is a hard ground to navigate, sure. But it certainly has its merits.
July 29, 2009 at 7:21 pm |
First of all, I completely agree that any governance structure is going to have its vulnerabililties to conflict and abuse. I just think that Jacobs has a real point when she writes about the confusion inherent and damage to be done when guardian and trader ethics get mixed up. What are the public/pvt partnerships you hold in especially high regard?