There’s an interesting in-depth article on the Nieman Journalism Lab site (part of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard)about Doug Hardy and Lon Seidman’s Independent Media Network (CTNews Junkie was a co-founder).
These days, breaking even is the primary goal of many independent local news reporters. The role of networks like Seidman and Hardy’s in simultaneously reducing overhead and increasing revenues for such sites has the potential to make possible journalism that, as Patch’s decline shows, is increasingly challenging to finance. Though it’s not clear whether IMN is sustainable for the long term — or whether its success is replicable in less monied states — for now, at least, Connecticut residents, be they cigar aficionados or Red Sox fans, are getting content that, without the network, might struggle to exist.
