Nonprofit California Watch just completed its first year in operation, and its editorial director Mark Katches has written a piece on the site about the news outlet's experience so far. "The mission here is to deliver rigorous, credible journalism that meets the highest possible standards and touches the lives of Californians," he wrote, the idea being that CW generates investigative stories that are then offered to other partner news outlets for publication.

Since its launch a year ago, CW has published 34 stories and has increased its staff from six to eleven full time reporters. Most stories run on newspaper front pages or in featured spots on TV or radio, and on all partner websites, Katches said. CW has partnered with 72 different outlets over the year. Reporters are assigned to beats and topic areas that are not typically covered from a statewide view: health and welfare, public safety, money and politics, schools, higher education and the environment.

CW has also hired a public engagement manager and a distribution and community manager to get its content out there. As well as the 34 stories produced, the site has published 933 blog posts and has 2,619 Facebook friends and 3,182 Twitter followers.

CW's formula "appears to be working," according to Katches, who specified that "we've identified tens of millions of dollars of questionable government spending" and "we've exposed injustices."

The outlet has been "experimenting with the new model of journalism," and has "occasionally failed, flopped and floundered," but is excited to keep trying new things, Katches said.

California Watch, a initiative of the Center for Investigative Reporting, is one of a new generation of nonprofit news organisations that have been springing up to fill the gaps in reporting left by cuts at traditional news outlets. Foundations and individuals have shown a willingness to fund public interest journalism that is seen as an essential part of a democratic society. Will this kind of funding become a bigger part of the news landscape? Or will a more innovative business model be found for journalism?

Source: California Watch