Strange Bedfellows

Paging Sy Hersh, Arianna Huffington has an offer for you. Well, not exactly, but close.

It seems the Huffington Post is taking to heart the criticism that it's profitting from the journalism world without giving back. The publication plans to work in tandem with donors to fund the work of about 10 investigative journalists who will focus on economic reporting. You'll be able to see the work on HuffPo's Web site as well as on other sites.

From the AP story:

Huffington said she and the donors were concerned that layoffs at
newspapers were hurting investigative journalism at a time the nation's
institutions need to be watched closely. She hopes to draw from the ranks of
laid-off journalists for the venture.

"All of us increasingly have to look at different ways to save
investigative journalism," she said.

Recapping the News Dive

It's an unfortunate trend, but a number of journalists have recently done a superb job providing an overview of the crippled state of the news industry. The latest recap comes from James Warren, a former managing editor and Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune. Writing in The Atlantic, Warren explains the classified ad conundrum and revisits the flawed model for online revenue. He links to another fine piece from media guru Eric Alterman, who wrote last year in the New Yorker.

Warren now writes for some of the sites -- The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast -- that rely heavily on newspaper reporters for original content and will undoubtedly lose out if this content continues to diminish.

Reading articles about the decline of the news media is somewhat masochistic and, admittedly, even a tad narcissistic. But it's also important. Every once in awhile, we all need a little kick in the ass to remind us why we're still in the game.