NECN Founder to Capitalize on News

In an era when everyone bemoans the future of journalism, NECN founder Philip Balboni thinks he has figured out a way to make money from it. According to Forbes, Balboni's new venture, GlobalNews Enterprises (GNE), plans to revive journalism by--wait for it--helping journalists make money. You don't say! With the markets in meltdown, will journalism become the new i-banking for smart young Ivy Leaguers?

GNE plans to station journalists around the world, bringing back the almost-extinct "foreign correspondent" that was once a mainstay of mastheads. Calling itself "the first fully web-based news organization to provide daily coverage of international news," GlobalNews proposes "written daily dispatches from more than 70 countries as well as forums for discussion and in-depth multimedia reports by an all-star team of some of the top foreign correspondents in the news business." Regional editors will get equity stakes in the company as well as at least $1000 a month (yeehaw!) for five years. Ownership might just be the model to revolutionize reporting.

But will a sum insufficient to rent a studio in Boston really motivate talented editors to participate in this program? We'd love to see increased coverage of international events, but we're skeptical about the money-making part. People have long since abandoned the idea of paying for news; can advertising support the company? Balboni does plan to sell GNE content to other news outlets, but with so many news companies tanking, will anyone be left to buy? Fortunately, there's already $8 million invested in the company, so they at least have the bucks to create some interesting content before going out of business--but here's hoping the going out of business part won't be necessary.