FAQ

What is SF Public Press?

A noncommercial local Web news source and a concept for a daily print newspaper.

What do you mean by “noncommercial”?

1) It’s owned and operated as a nonprofit charitable organization.

2) It accepts no (or very little!) advertising.

Why no ads?

This strategy focuses the newspaper on its primary product: the news. It also frees the news organization to criticize businesses without fear of scaring off its main source of funding and eliminating ads reduces paper use — an ad-free paper featuring the same amount of news content as a traditional newspaper would require 60 percent less paper.

Then how can you pay for putting out the newspaper?

Like a public broadcaster, SF Public Press raises money from community “pledges,” foundation grants and individual philanthropy. Unlike a public broadcaster, it will charge for subscriptions and single copies of the paper. Nonprofit status means “profits” aren’t siphoned off by investors, and it pays no corporate taxes.

Isn’t ink on dead trees obsolete?

No. Fifty-two million Americans buy a hard-copy newspaper every day.

Are there any precedents?

There are at least half a dozen newspapers currently owned or operated by nonprofits, including the St. Petersburg Times and the UK Guardian. Two newspapers in this century survived several years without taking ads: Day Book in Chicago in the 1910s and PM in New York in the 1940s. NPR and PBS are also important analogues.

Is this “citizen journalism”?

The reporting is done by experienced professional journalists. But the paper intends to reverse-publish selected Web comments, blog posts and reporting from community members.

Is SF Public Press multimedia?

Of course. The print newspaper will be integrated with our robust, breaking-news Web site and share reporting resources with local public radio/televisions broadcasters, as well as other local public and independent media.