At a time when many U.S. newspapers find themselves at the edge of a financial precipice, The Salt Lake Tribune’s recent transformation into a 501(c)(3) public charity presents a potentially promising route to economic safety for other daily newspapers. Although the nonprofit, tax-exempt model has been an increasingly popular one for new media outlets, the IRS’s bestowal of such status on a major daily newspaper marks an historic event — one that other newspapers, and their legal counsel, can learn from. This article outlines several issues such practitioners and owners should be aware of as they consider taking the leap to nonprofit status. The nonprofit route can have not only financial advantages for news publications, but it may also provide a better environment for cultivating the type of high-quality journalism that is essential to preserving our democracy. The legal requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations, as well as the ownership structure, have the potential to drive hard-hitting reporting on the most important issues, particularly for local publications, many of which are currently hemorrhaging such coverage. This article argues that journalism is a public good, and as such, a natural fit for the non-profit model.

在许多美国报纸发现自己处于金融悬崖边缘的时候，盐湖城论坛报的最近转变为 501(c)(3) 公共慈善机构为其他日报提供了一条潜在的经济安全途径。尽管非营利性免税模式越来越受到新媒体的欢迎，但美国国税局在一家主要日报上授予这种地位标志着一个历史性事件——其他报纸及其法律顾问可以从中学习。本文概述了这些从业者和所有者在考虑向非营利组织迈进时应该注意的几个问题。非营利路线不仅可以为新闻出版物带来财务优势，而且还可以为培养对维护民主至关重要的高质量新闻业提供更好的环境。501(c)(3) 组织的法律要求，以及所有权结构，有可能推动对最重要问题的强硬报道，特别是对于当地出版物，其中许多目前正在大量报道此类问题。本文认为新闻业是一种公共产品，因此很适合非营利模式。