Steve Burns
WMAL.com
DAMASCUS, MD — (WMAL) The one-million residents of Montgomery County will have precious few places to get local news, so one reporter is exploring a new business model. Len Lazarick runs MarylandReporter.com, and it’s not funded in the traditional ways. It’s a 501(c)3 non-profit.
“I’ve been doing MarylandReporter.com. for five and a half years. We started with foundation funding,” Lazarick said. “It’s a lot like the public radio model, but with no government involvement. We make it work with donations, with sponsorships, with sponsored content, and with foundation support.”
He said he’s just exploring at this stage, to see if anyone would support the idea or have any more suggestions.
“We have to try other things so people can continue to know about what’s happening in their communities,” Lazarick said.
He’s already registered the MontgomeryReporter.com domain.
“Everybody is struggling to come up with a way and a model to continue to do journalism. This is one of the potential models, particularly for a county the size of Montgomery.”
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO:MarylandReporter.com)
