Funding for investigative journalism

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund, a nonprofit fund launched recently, will produce a wide-range of investigative journalism created by both staff reporters and freelance writers. Some excerpts and my commentary below.

As the newspaper industry continues to contract, one of the most commonly voiced fears is that serious investigative journalism will be among the victims. It is high cost and low quantity, however high quality. Yet in the financial recession it is important to promote investigative journalism. As a citizen I want to know the specifics of why particular companies have failed. For example I want someone to compare the increases in executive remuneration as a ratio of company performance (eg. revenues), across all companies over, say, 5 years. And investigative journalists are qualified to not only do this, but also to maintain an appropriate level of professional behavior, and not turn it into a witch hunt for headlines.

The HuffFund will attempt to change this. It will also provide new opportunities for seasoned journalists who have been laid off or forced into early retirement. Picture a large pool of reporters -- some on staff, and many freelancers -- proposing stories and also receiving assignments from Investigative Fund editors.

I presume the editors are those who pay the fund? hmmmmm........ Even though it has Jay Rosen as a partner, I'm not sure if this points the way to the future of investigative journalism. It may turn into tokenism. But still I've emailed them my idea - see what happens.....