We are currently in a startup phase and are focused on capacity‐building activities: organizational development, community outreach to determine unmet information needs, and development of an online publication as a proof of concept that will establish an editorial voice and a test bed for new coverage areas.
The Public Press was established formally in November 2007, when about 20 volunteers attended two brainstorming meetings to found the organization. In January 2008, the project opened an office in downtown San Francisco. The project’s web site has been in constant development since then.
The strategic planning process began at a meeting on Feb. 9, 2008, and continued at meetings in March, June, August and September; more than 40 volunteers participated in these discussions to define a mission, vision for the future and core values.
In April 2008, The Public Press was granted fiscal sponsorship by San Francisco‐based Independent Arts & Media, a nonprofit 501(c)3 whose mission is to expand civic dialogue by increasing access to independent voices.
The Public Press is currently a volunteer‐run organization, consisting mostly of journalists. We also have students, documentary filmmakers, community organizers, fundraising experts, technologists and other professionals who have committed themselves to this effort. We anticipate that volunteers will represent the backbone of our planning, fundraising, development and marketing efforts for the next three years.
The Public Press project team is now engaged in research into several aspects of nonprofit and advertisement free media. Volunteers have consulted with more than 150 experts, some of whom were asked to be advisers and are candidates for the board of directors. We are also in the process of preparing grant proposals, which we will submit to more than 50 charitable foundations that support activities related to journalism, media, public affairs and increasing civic participation.
In October 2008, we launched a public wiki and are inviting people in the community to use it to identify and discuss under‐reported community meetings to gauge residents’ needs for information about social trends and public policy affecting their communities.
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