Focus: “Expressing community through arts, culture and civic involvement”; information categories include “arts & culture”, “green living”, “non-profits and volunteering”, “quality of life”; calendar listings

Started: August 2009

Staff: executive director/managing editor; board of directors; solicitation for contributors

Funding: non-profit, pending 501(c)3 status; donations

Site: bakersfieldexpress.org

From About Us:

The content comes from a mix of independent reporting, community contributed columns and photos, and reader commentary. The website offers an independent, alternative source of local news and information, as well as an opportunity for outreach among community groups.Bakersfield Express is a professional and ethical voice in the community, and offers a place for community members to express themselves. We hold local government accountable through watchdog reporting, offer a central online meeting place for the arts community, and support eco-friendly lifestyle practices. We also build community by encouraging people to volunteer through our nonprofit portal and send in events for our community calendar.

Sample stories: “Artists represent isolation, loss associated with homelessness”; “Kern County has power to be renewable energy leader”; “Dia de los Muertos celebrations are to die for”; “Community concert season off to a jiving start”; “Help needed for tree planting, grove cleanup”

Focus: regional watchdog journalism, “News you can sink your teeth into”; news categories include Broward Courts, Broward Sheriff’s Office and Federal Court

Started: October 2009

Staff: volunteer, to start; 3-person board of directors led by chairman and news editor and reporter Dan Christensen, board member/reporter Buddy Nevins, and board member Julie Kay. All are career journalists. Mr. Christensen was laid off from the Miami Herald this year. There is a 9-person board of advisors

Funding: non-profit 501(c)3 (application in process); will solicit donations from individuals and foundations

Site: browardbulldog.org

From About

Broward Bulldog is an independent, not for profit online-only newspaper created to provide authoritative local reporting in the public interest. We are Florida’s first non-profit regional news site staffed by veteran, professional journalists. Our reporters will provide issue-oriented and investigative coverage of government, politics, the courts, education, business, the environment, health and public safety.

Sample stories: “Anatomy of a Frame-Up”

Media mention: “Cheers to the New Bulldog Blog in Town” article from Broward-Palm Beach New Times

Focus: news and information on Oakland neighborhoods and local nonprofit activity; environmentally focused coverage; news categories include environment, food, development, identity, and arts & education

Started: October 2009

Staff: 5 — an editor/publisher, senior producer, senior editor, strategist/advisor, and a staff writer; collaborates with local bloggers, contributors;  partners with local media outlets, namely Spot.us online news site, a radio site, and other nonprofit outlets, and Center for Investigative Reporting; also conducts social and new media training sessions in community

Funding: nonprofit, 501c3 project of The Center for Media Change; seed money from a New Voices grant awarded by J-Lab at American University, which receives funds from The Knight Foundation

Site: oaklandlocal.com

From About

Oakland Local is an independent, non-profit community news and information hub, connecting community and news. Our site combines original investigative and feature reporting with community news and information about Oakland non-profit organizations, community groups and engaged citizens.

…Centered on topics including environmental justice, food distribution, transportation, development & housing, arts & education, and gender & identity, Oakland Local aggregates information and news from local non-profits and community organizations working on these topics within a range of Oakland neighborhoods.

Stories: “People’s Grocery wins humanitarian award”; “Peralta Elementary School’s annual walk-a-thon is a big success”; “Liberation Ink co-op starts membership program to stay open, meet costs”

Focus: “News of the Great Nearby”; “…a daily guide to local and Northwest news, and a forum where writers and citizens with many points of view can report and discuss local news”; non-breaking news, aggregated news, topics, from other online media sources; original content; blogs; regional coverage includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, British Columbia, Montana; content categories include arts/living, business, politics, science/environment

Started: April 2007 (as LLC, then converted to non-profit December 2008)

Staff: founded by civic leaders, investors; content generated by ”contract writers, freelancers, prominent figures in the community or in a given field, and normal folks and specialists who have something to report or something to say,” according to the site; more than 40 contributors; paid freelancers; contributor solicitations

Funding: non-profit according to site, 501c3 status with IRS is “pending” as of November 2008 (could be outdated info); started as Crosscut LLC then converted to Crosscut Public Media; from About Us, revenue sources: “annual memberships, donations from individuals, grants and foundation support, and advertising sponsorships. In the future, we expect to produce some events, such as conferences, that will also generate income. This model resembles public broadcast, except there is no government money in the mix.” 

Site: crosscut.com

From About Us

Crosscut is a daily guide to local and Northwest news, and a forum where writers and citizens with many points of view can report and discuss local news. News coverage as traditionally practiced by mainstream media outlets coexists with advocacy journalism and opinion. Crosscut is a general-interest news site, with coverage ranging over politics, business, arts and lifestyle, and the world of ideas. It does thoughtful and fresh analysis of the important issues of the day, not routine breaking news.

Sample stories: “King County’s running out of cuts”; “Real radio is found in Bellevue” (posted to a Crosscut blog); “A taste of the next mayor’s diet”; “What would Jane Jacobs do about the viaduct?”; “Seattle schools’ next hot potato: Student assignment plans”; “Are we happier in the West?”; “Obama science goes schizophrenic on salmon restoration”

Focus: statewide, regional news, politics, environment, growth, border issues, poverty, culture categories; original reporting; blog roundup

Started: April 2008

Staff:  5 — Editor Gwyneth Doland, two senior writers, two reporter/bloggers; plus 4 contributing columnists, 1 cartoonist

Site: newmexicoindependent.com (one of six news sites with the non-profit Center for Investigative Media  project)

Funding: non-profit project of Center for Investigative Media; “donations” link forwards to CIM site in Washington, DC

 From About Us page

Local news in context: The New Mexico Independent is a fleet-footed webpaper of politics and policy. We are the ink-stained wretches of the digital era. We aim for snap-crackle-pop reporting in our articles and blog posts – all working together to tell a bigger story. We provide thought-provoking commentary from insightful experts. We write to record scenes from the passing show, to stir things up and to keep those in power honest. We seek to explore and define the Land of Enchantment and the context for our times.

Sample stories: “Chavez, Berry exchange fire over campaign HQ rent”; “BernCo Sheriff Darren White endorses Berry for mayor”; “NM’s rising rate of unemployment could bring new stimulus money”; “Throw enough money at Johnny and surely he’ll read” (commentary)

Focus: watchdog, investigative reports in Texas; commitment to state and local government muckraking 

Started: August 2008

Employees/Writers: Non-profit founded by Trent Siebert, a former reporter at the Nashville Tennessean.  Reporters, board of directors.

Funding: start-up monies from the Sam Adams Alliance, a libertarian non-profit based in Chicago; other revenue comes from Texas Watchdog’s blogger/citizen-journalist training program; there is a donation solicitation on the site  

Site: texaswatchdog.com

[from Who We Are page] Texas Watchdog is a news Web site and training center that scrutinizes the actions of government agencies, bureaucracies and politicians in Texas. It is an independent, nonpartisan entity founded on the belief that our American democracy depends on transparency in government.

Texas Watchdog serves as a government watchdog and training center where reporters, bloggers and activists of any stripe learn how to uncover waste, fraud and corruption in state and local governments. This combination of news outlet and training facility creates a two-tiered approach to holding governments and officials accountable for their actions.

Sample stories: “Did [U.S. Senator] Kay Bailey Hutchison cross an ethical line by supporting a rail line that is a payday for her husband?”; “Gaps in Senator Royce West’s reporting of fees from groups with lobbyists”; “La Porte councilman traveled, other council members stayed home”; “Houston Airport System: Releasing salary list would make airports vulnerable to terrorists”

Around the Web about Texas Watchdog: “A New Watchdog for Texas” AJR story from February/March 2009 issue; and from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism page on new news business models, July 17, 2009 post: “News Innovators on the Frontline: Texas Watchdog“