“I feel like my dad. What time is it?” she said, miming a look at her watch. “Time for some unsolicited advice.”
On Thursday, Oct. 2, Executive Director of I-News and former Scripps Fellow Laura Frank dropped by the CEJ to talk about her transition from journalist to entrepreneur.
Since Frank has spent the last several years building a sustainable business model for investigative journalism, her advice was more than welcome.
As a Scripps Fellow herself back in 2009, Frank spent the year recovering from the disheartening closure of Rocky Mountain News. Frank spent 20 years there and elsewhere as a data-driven reporter. (Though laughable now, the term for this used to be “computer-assisted” reporting.)
Laura Frank shows off an information packet for the I-News series “Loosing Ground,” which combines stories with public forums to address the declining resources of economically disadvantaged people, even when they are paid more. “I love visual props,” she said. (Photo/ Avery McGaha)
When Rocky Mountain News closed in 2009, a documentary about its fate caught Frank tearing up at the closure of such an impactful public advocate.
“That kind of blew my tough investigative reporter image,” she said.
Frank used her fellowship to found I-News, an organization that would focus on in-depth, investigative journalism. She wanted to tell stories that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day.
At first Frank was the whole apparatus—reporting, filing content, pleading for grant money. But after a few key grants, and a good deal of stretching, she was eventually able to stack the ranks of I-News with talented staff. This allowed Frank to focus on fundraising and other business opportunities.
“Now when I said we, I actually meant we,” she said.
The second stage of success came last January, when I-News merged with Rocky Mountain PBS.
“Public media is not known for investigative reporting,” she explained. Normally, stations like RM PBS would just be a “pass through” for a national news source like NPR. But by making content really matter to local people, and producing that content locally, I-News was a valuable asset.
Plus, Frank said, it helped I-News reach financial sustainability.
To make this concept clear, she employed the analogy of a four-legged stool. The first leg represents grants and donations. The second is underwriting, code for advertisements. The rest of the stool is supported by earned revenue and paid content. The merger helped tack on those last two legs, because RM PBS already had tens of thousands of subscribers and the infrastructure to reach even more.
And while much of this finance gobbledygook might sound painful for a passionate reporter, Frank doesn’t see it this way. If anything, it’s her passion that makes her a convincing fundraiser.
“I’m already shocked at how personally gratifying it is,” she said. “But being an investigative reporter was easier.”