Joe Bergantino, co-founder of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, announced today that he is retiring after six years heading the digital non-profit.
A date has not been set. Bergantino, 63, and a longtime Boston-based investigative reporter, will stay on and work on finding a successor until later this year or early next and then become executive director emeritus.
Like most durable non-profits, NECIR needed to find added revenue streams after initial grants and seed money ran out. The current annual budget is $1.2 million and, unusual for such organizations, nearly half of that comes from training activities.
Training a next generation of journalists has been elevated to part of the group’s mission alongside producing in-depth, high-impact investigations. NECIR conducts a summer investigative workshop for high school journalists that this year attracted 132 participants from 26 states.
Other earned income comes from selling stories and content partnerships with WGBH public TV and WBUR public radio.
These are transitional times for the first wave of digital news startups. Global Post, whose network of correspondents included ISIS victim James Foley, will be merged into WGBH over the next several months. The ambitious alternative source for international coverage, started by Philip Balboni, had built an extensive network of correspondents but never reached sustainability as a business. In 2013, the St. Louis Beacon merged with St. Louis Public Radio and I-News merged with Rocky Mountain PBS.
Joel and Laurie Kramer, co founders of MinnPost in 2007, told me last week that with successors in place for editing and publishing roles, they hope to continue a phased semi-retirement over the next year. MinnPost has support from local foundations and benefactors, 2,200 member-donors and a six-figure annual event. Along with Voice of San Diego and Texas Tribune, it’s considered one of the models for diverse revenue sources to make a local non-profit work.
