Launching a nonprofit news site “no picnic,” MinnPost CEO says

Joel Kramer is a former Minneapolis Star Tribune editor and publisher who is the founder of MinnPost.com, a Web news startup that promises “a thoughtful approach to news.” His recounting of lessons learned after the first year is refreshingly specific:

Even for our serious audience, we’ve learned that $600 spent on one long story produces a lot less traffic than $600 spent generating six to 12 shorter items. We still do longer stories every day, including many that combine in-depth reporting and analysis with personal voice.

But a careful reader of our site over the past year will note that we have a great many more short, quick hits, published all day long. So while we are spending less on news today than a year ago, our traffic has more than doubled during that time.

As traditional media organizations shed workers, MinnPost.com and similar sites have fielded so many calls seeking advice on how to do something similar Kramer says they’re considering forming "a consortium of nonprofit regional online news sites" to help others get started.

Nonprofit, by the way, doesn’t mean no money down:

Many of the callers tell me they have no start-up funds in hand yet. “Well,” I say, “I’d start by getting some.”