Over the next two days, a select group of investigative and community news startups will gather together to work out step-by-step plans to make their organization thrive for years to come. CJET helps the people who drive new online news organizations build business skills and work out a plan that will bring them to financial sustainability.
"I believe in this like religion, because I think these skills are learnable," says Janet Coats, CEO of Coats2Coats, who developed the CJET program in partnership with INN. "We have done so little in journalism, whether in big for-profit news organizations or in independent startups, to really figure out the new business forms. It takes time and focus to get at what can work."
"The way I see it, CJET exists to help journalists sprout entrepreneurial wings," says Anne Galloway, founder ofVTDigger. "CJET 1 made me realize that I had to get out of reporting and editing mode and start investing my energy in the business side. "
CJET is supported by The Patterson Foundation and The Knight Foundation, who has shown an increased focused on the long-term viability of startup news organizations over the past few years.
Here's a list of participants in this year's CJET:
VT Digger
Rocky Mountain I-News
Catalyst Chicago
Sheepshead Bites
Voice of San Diego
Wisconsin Center
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
SF Public Press
AustinTalks
Iowa Center
WyoFile
YellowstoneGate
The Eastsider
Philadelphia Public Notebook
Investigate West
The Lens
Aspen Journalism
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
My Edmonds News
Mission & State
