About this project

This project is a first volley into seeking funders for my journalism and advocacy work on the future of news as a social enterprise. If this first project is successful, I will put together a more extensive budget and work plan for funding.

I have been self-financing all of this work to date. This includes attending two conferences out of state, the writing I have done for the Huffington Post — Chicago, the time I have committed to attend meetings here in Chicago at the Chicago Community Trust as well as research that includes twittering on the subject.

Here's my latest HuffPo piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-duros/chicago-news-blogs-have-p_b_206029.html. View my blog: http://www.sallyduros.com

I am seeking backers to continue my travel, reporting, writing, research and twittering on the future of news, in general and specifically as a social enterprise, L3C.

I am seeking funding to attend the New Economic Models for News conference in Minneapolis June 16.

My budget is $900.
Hotel: $146.29
Southwest Air: $340.00 (est)
Reporting time: 8 hours X $50 - $400

My registration fee has been waived — $25

It's shocking to see how much this all adds up to!

Here's the info:
June 16
McNamara Alumni Center
University of Minnesota- East Bank
200 Oak Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
8:30-5:00

Conference
Join industry leaders in a discussion about the economics of the news industry in this one-day conference! Speakers and panelists will discuss the mission of newspapers, new ways to structure the newspaper business, new revenue models and many other topics. Co-sponsored by the Newspaper Guild and the Minnesota Journalism Center.

Speakers Include:
Bernie Lunzer, president of the Newspaper Guild
Robert Lang, Mannweiler Foundation and creator of the L3C business model
Jennifer Towery, Peoria Journal Star and president of the Peoria Guild
Joel Kramer, founder and CEO of Minnpost.com
John Sturm, president of the Newspaper Association of America
Steve Yelvington, Morris Digital Works
Ted Venetoulis, Corridor Media Inc., 501c(3) concept
David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Check out this link for a head start on content from the Free Press that will be discussed at the conference. http://www.freepress.net/files/saving_the_news.pdf