Startup sites try to fill investigative void

Faced with shrinking ad revenues and declining circulations, most newspapers and news organizations across the country have been forced to cut budgets.
A news outlet's investigative reporting operations are often a frequent target of such cuts, as they can be resource- and time-intensive.
The New York Times is reporting a new trend, in which local websites attempt to do the investigative reporting that larger news outlets can't always afford.

Their news coverage and hard-digging investigative reporting stand out in an Internet landscape long dominated by partisan commentary, gossip, vitriol and citizen journalism posted by unpaid amateurs.
The fledgling movement has reached a sufficient critical mass, its founders think, so they plan to form an association, angling for national advertising and foundation grants that they could not compete for singly. And hardly a week goes by without a call from journalists around the country seeking advice about starting their own online news outlets.

Some of the sites, including VoiceofSandDiego.org and MinnPost.com, are non-profit organizations. The fact that they are growing in resources and influence may point the way for successful news ventures by other startup operations around the country.

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