Nonprofit journalism is not a compromise, says NPR CEO

NPR CEO and President Vivian Schiller takes Slate Editor-at-large Jack Shafer to task for his criticism of the nonprofit model proposed for The New York Times. Below, I’ve included excerpts from Shafer’s article, followed by Schiller’s responses.

Shafer:

But if the point is to stake the Times for perpetuity, the biggest problem will be keeping the foundation hustlers from taking over. In my experience, foundations that fund journalism directly—as opposed to journalistic education—are more interested in promoting what they consider “social justice” than promoting journalism. For them, a newspaper is just a means to an end.

Schiller’s response:

New York Times editor Bill Keller on the newspaper industry

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller recently addressed readers’ questions on the state of the newspaper industry, often with regard to the Times and the predicted decline of print. A few highlights:

On newspapers turning to a nonprofit model (note that he echoes the criticism of nonprofits by Jonathan Weber):