Journalism realizes it has a business talent problem

"Once I cooled off, I realized that counsel, which arrived in a LION sustainability audit, was wise if difficult to achieve. Try finding a grant for a business partner. Go ahead, I'll wait. Not getting "operational" money is, of course, a complaint not limited to news organizations, nonprofit or otherwise. Program officers are generally disinclined to pay for your overhead. But let me propose something radical: If we're saving journalism, it's going to require overhead."

"I ultimately did take the advice and hired a business partner. And you can draw The Current's likelihood-of-survival curve in two parts: before Johanna and after Johanna. Hers was not a revenue job, although that's the gig I posted. She's an operator, skilled at devising systems, designing processes and creating the conditions where people can do their best work. "People think creativity thrives in chaos. But it thrives in a system," is how Johanna puts it. And she's totally right."

News organizations and nonprofits often struggle to secure funding for operational overhead because program officers generally avoid paying for it. Hiring a business partner who focuses on operations—systems, processes, and enabling staff to do their best work—can markedly improve organizational survival. Creativity in journalism benefits from structured systems rather than chaos. Media funders and support organizations have historically funded creative initiatives, technologies, and reporting projects while neglecting operational systems and in-house business talent, relying instead on consultants and workshops. Recent funder moves such as open Press Forward grants and LION sustainability-related grants indicate a shift toward supporting operational capacity. Significant challenges remain in scaling direct investment in dedicated business personnel.

Read at Nieman Lab