The board of directors of the Nichi Bei Times has declared it's time to go away as a for-profit but return as a nonprofit. While 63 years old and "the oldest Japanese American community newspaper" it has experienced a steady decline in subscriptions and advertising revenues, just like most for-profit newspapers in the US. But the board thinks the answer for reviving the paper lays in creating a nonprofit "supported by donations, fundraisers and grants".
A novel idea this is not and yes, there are efforts being made to establish a nonprofit news media the long-range sustainability of which remains to be seen. But the potential success from a for-profit conversion does have me scratching my head. At minimum there's the simple question: if the paper couldn't succeed as a for-profit, what exactly are the facts that make the potential for success as a non-profit -- especially in these times when foundations and individual donors have so much less to offer and/or have so many competing philanthropic demands? I'm just not seeing it but maybe the business plan says otherwise. I wish these folks the best but I'd be looking to other strategies -- say for instance, a merger with the one other major competitor, or perhaps, a consolidation with other ethnic newspapers -- hardrer I'm sure but?
See more about this story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
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