It’s a promise of unbiased news.  A new online service is launching with a plan to bring you straight up coverage of state issues.  It’s called Idaho Capital Sun and it begins reporting news on March 31st.  I signed up for daily email alerts a few days ago, which you can do by visiting the site here.

As newsrooms across the country have been downsized for the last two decades (and the trend continues) there are fears we’re not going to have the news we need to make decisions about our lives and our votes.

One of the criticisms of current coverage is that it’s designed to keep you in fear or agitated.

The Capital Sun is based on a not for profit model. 

Because there’s no profit motive, there shouldn’t be sensationalized news.  One of the criticisms of current coverage is that it’s designed to keep you in fear or agitated.  In order to keep bringing you back.  Each time you watch, read or click on a link, someone is looking to share the details with advertisers.  The only other option is really a pay wall or a series of questions (for advertising research) and people have become conditioned to reject the questions and expect news to be free. 

You don’t expect bread for free but you generally aren’t suspicious of the motives of the baker, miller and farmer. 

The future of news gathering and reporting will likely in the future be crowdsourced or rely on endowments.  Florida’s St. Petersburg Times has a large endowment and it allows some solid investigative reporting on the state’s western side.

Whether or not the new entry in Idaho will always maintain balance, the key to an informed public is a variety of sources.

 

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