Kudos to the Huffington Post

Congratulations to the Huffington Post on setting up an investigate journalism fund- it's welcome news especially in light of the latest depressing news about newspaper advertising revenue (also- the photo- kudos are in order and though a friend sent this my way today for an entirely different reason, it's oddly appropriate).

Although I don't have any specific details on the Investigative Fund, I already see two key advantages working in its favor. One is the caliber and prominence of the Fund's contributors. Professor Jay Rosen from NYU, who announced his role as Senior Advisor to the new venture on Twitter earlier today, is one of the foremost thought leaders on the future of journalism and his involvement will inevitably bring attention from the journalism community and beyond. The second is the name recognition of the Huffington Post. Nothing has been released on the Fund's team of journalists, but I can only imagine that such a well-known online news outlet (they were called on by Obama!) will attract respected journalists with name recognition of their own.

Moreover, with 11.3 million unique monthly users (traffic figures from Quantcast), the Post's name will lend the Fund more clout right off the bat, even if, as Professor Rosen explains on his blog PressThink, the new operation will be editorially distinct from the Huffington Post. Both elements can only aid the Fund's journalists in doing important investigative work immediately.

This isn't the first operation of its kind (ProPublica.org is similar) but it is certainly the most prominent. Given the current buzz around a non-profit model as a solution for journalism's woes, newspapers will be paying close attention. Non-profit investigative branches at newspapers wouldn't be a cure-all solution, but they could allow newspapers to continue their important role as civic watchdog, something that has been increasingly threatened.