Read Newstin. Using its patented software, the site has found a way to translate news from more than 160,000 sources across the globe in ten languages.

Newstin, which started with six staff members in Prague in 1998, was initially funded privately by its CEO and founder, Frank Vrabel, and a group of angel investors – affluent individuals who provide capital for business startups.  The site was originally created to solve IT problems for business clients.

But a fairly simple idea has become a service that gives readers a feast of a global range of news. 

Most websites—even Facebook— are struggling to crack language barriers, limiting one user’s ability to understand another’s half way across the world. But Newstin insists it has broken new ground on creating a global online community. “We are jumping across these differences to lay a foundation to interconnect all the editions,” said Jeremy Lopez, director of business development of the news site who joined in 2006 to start this global news aggregation project.

More journalists have called for foundations to step up to support in-depth news reporting. Among the most prominent is Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation and a writer for The New Yorker. He recently called for billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to get the endowment ball rolling by stepping forward and investing in media organizations with promises that “the rest of us will get busy raising the rest.”

In the meantime, foundation money isn’t so easy to find. “Obviously, it is attractive as a relatively stable yearly source of revenue from its earnings. But, it’s not just something that you can just decide to do,” said Scott Lewis, chief executive of the nonprofit Voice of San Diego.

Lewis is right. In order to have an endowment there needs to be a willing investor involved, as in the case of the Kroc Foundation and National Public Radio (NPR). Philanthropist Joan Kroc gave $200 million to the news organization because she believed in the importance of its role. “An endowment must also be large enough to provide not only operational expenses, but capital for reinvestment in the enterprise over time,” said media economics analyst Robert Picard.

Even one of the most high-profile successes in foundation-backed journalism isn’t counting on foundation support alone. Pro Publica was funded by philanthropists Herb and Marion Sandler with a $10 million a year commitment for three years, with the expectation that it will continue. But general manager Richard Tofel says that the company is currently focusing on modifying its annual funding base.

But some analysts believe that Pro Publica might be a prime candidate for additional foundation money. “In my mind it has already proved itself with the quality of its investigative reporting, and the impact that some of its stories have had,” said media consultant and columnist for Editor and Publisher Steve Outing. “If I were Bill Gates, I’d consider endowing Pro Publica.”

New York University journalism professor and PressThink author Jay Rosen is slightly more pessimistic about whether or not such large sums of money can be raised, if at all. “If you could raise that much money, or had a zillionaire waiting in the wings to donate it, then it’s worth discussing how an endowed news organization might effectively and responsibly operate. But I see no evidence that the amounts necessary can actually be raised.”

But simply securing an endowment won’t necessarily put an end to an organization’s challenges. “There is a lot of wishful thinking about news financing,” Picard said. Most foundations are willing to support initiatives for a while, but they eventually expect their recipients to stand on their own feet.”  Additionally, contrary to the thoughts of financial stability that an endowment can bring, times of economic hardship can also jeopardize endowments. “It’s dangerous to rely too much on an endowment even if you’re lucky enough to get one,” said Outing.

In light of all of these concerns, organizations like the Voice of San Diego have raised other issues with the method. “An endowment could also have the negative effect of lessening the sense of urgency we have to continue to justify our existence in asking the public to support the service we provide,” said Lewis.

Questions such as these will continue to be raised as long as media companies keep grappling with the best ways to survive. The endowment is just another suggestion on the “to try” list of some organizations dealing with the changing media landscape. Maybe one day Mr. Buffet or Mr. Gates will really take Coll up on his offer.

MVN was backed by family money, and as Brunell explains, the downturn in the economy hasn’t helped. Online ad revenue dropped and the company no longer has the money to support itself. Brunell added that he has been uncompensated for his work on the site for the last six years.

But fear not. Some of the blogs on the site might find home on Bloguin or Real Clear Sports. Others will spin off as independent blogs.

Read the Tweets here

“It used to be like the Wild West out there, no consistent formats, infrastructure and bandwidth to watch online videos,” said Paul Johnson, multimedia journalist and partner at Studioe9 in New York.

 But as technology evolved and formats become more uniform the interest of advertisers for this rich media format sparked. A study released by the Online Publishers Association, a non-for-profit trade organization, shows that weekly online viewership of videos has jumped more than 80% since last year. The study also found that “if a consumer had a positive attitude toward an advertised brand, and liked the video content that the ad appeared within, brand consideration jumped 61%.”

Another study published recently by the research firm Nielsen showed online video usage grew by 25% in September from a year ago with websites like Yahoo, Fox Interactive Media and MSN topping the list.

Although more and more websites are jumping on the online video bandwagon it is still unclear what is the best way to attract eyeballs online and create viral videos that bring in traffic. 
 

The Wall Street Journal launched in September The News Hub, a live video steam while CNN.com has recently scrapped its online TV channel CNN.com live. CNN.com sacked its anchors as it plans to focus more on original content rather than emulating the traditional broadcast model.  CNN.com senior vice president KC Estenson wrote the unit will shift its resources to on-demand video “to create a unit focused on streaming major live events, producing video packages especially for CNN.com and increasing our overall on-demand offering,” according to media reports.

 “The online video format it is still finding its way to grab viewers’ attention,” said Rick Edmonds, media analyst. “It is still unclear how interested people are in spending time watching videos.”

 Another unknown in the online video equation is the production of pre-roll ads. Some online websites are creating online TV shows that are sold to advertisers months in advance. Other websites are still learning how to sell pre-roll video advertising. “Print sales haven’t been trained to sell pre-roll video advertising,” said Regina McCombs a multimedia faculty member at the Poynter Institute.   

On the other hand an increasing number of small, local businesses would like to roll their ads before videos, but lack the resources and capabilities, said McCombs. To raise more revenue, some media companies could offer a special service to produce these ads at a lower cost. “St. Petersburg Times was discussing how to produce ads for online video,” according to McCombs. 

Other media analysts are positive about online videos and estimate the format will grow in the future. The question remains about the right recipe for success, now that we have the ingredients and a consumers ‘appetite for this format.

“It will grow and grow and it will become part of how people communicate with each other online,” said Johnson. “The potential for video is wide open you can do more and more with it.”

With this inflow of talent into the freelance market, long-time freelancers say they are noticing more competition. To make things worse, editors are farming out fewer assignments, instead choosing to use just their staff.

“Almost every freelance writer I know has been affected by the economy,” says Esther Stein, who has written for The Boston Globe, CFO Magazine and Computerworld. She adds that it is taking longer to get paid after each assignment — “Whereas many publications used to pay within 30 days, the norm has now become 45 to 60 days.” So how are these veteran freelancers coping? They are diversifying, focusing on building their brands and staying flexible.

Gina DeMillo Wagner, who has written for Runner’s World, US Airways Magazine and Skiing, points out that magazine editors have hit the freelance circuit recently after being cut from mastheads, so she is having a more difficult time finding work with new clients. On the upside, her current clients haven’t made adjustments to her assignments, either.

The “key to survival…is to have a diverse client base,” she says. Transcending medium and profit models by writing for nonprofits, businesses, websites and magazines enables her to deal with a slowdown in print assignments or fewer business clients. Echoing that sentiment, Michelle Margetts, who recently completed work for brand and etailer Be the Light, Be the One, says that she doesn’t rely on one job or income source.

These pros preach flexibility, both in the types of assignments they’ll take and how much they’ll charge. Scott Kramer, who has written for PGA Magazine and Travel & Leisure Golf, wrote and published an eBook titled “How to Buy the Right Golf Equipment” earlier this year, “just to see how it would sell and to make some extra cash.” Darrell Delamaide, who has written for MarketWatch and Institutional Investor, says that rates charged should be very flexible, too. In addition, a successful freelancer should have multiple skills, allowing more flexibility in the type of services he or she can provide, says Margetts. In a recent interview for a technical writing assignment, she sensed that the firm’s officers were unhappy with the company’s marketing efforts. She was able to grab their attention by discussing how to improve the firm’s website and marketing information. “So even though I was there for tech writing, I generated a lot of interest from them to make the marketing my first deliverable,” she says.

Concentrating on the bigger picture – your brand – is a good idea. Margetts work in the San Francisco Bay Area where, she says, “there is a glut of talent…compounded, of course, by the amount of bloggers willing to write ‘for free’ for the exposure or to leverage other opportunities. I fought this for awhile but have capitulated and while writing for free sucks, the blog is helping me immensely to network and land good interviews.”

Maybe most importantly, these freelancers are staying optimistic. Margetts says that in addition to her current projects, she’s expecting work for the second phase of Be the Light, Be the One and searching for new projects. The new year seems like it will be more promising than the last she says, adding, “hope that’s not the Kool-Aid talkin’.”

Kramer sums up his experience during the recession this way: “Absolutely, I’ve taken on some jobs I wouldn’t normally. But hey, it’s a nice way to meet new people and you never know how it might pay off when the economy rebounds.”

Read more about freelance life:

Freelancers, Beware the Lawsuit

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The case was settled in 2008 on undisclosed terms. A statement released at the time essentially retracted the reporting regarding allegations against Jones.

Thompson did not respond to a request for comment. The settlement bars Hays from talking about the case, but he said in an email, “a freelancer should always be worried about finding affordable legal representation in the event of a lawsuit, and organizations such as the one … at Harvard are a godsend to freelance journalists, as are nonprofits like the US Justice Foundation, which represented me.” The US Justice Foundation is described as “your conservative voice in the courts,” as well as “a nonprofit public interest, legal action organization dedicated to instruct, inform and educate the public on, and to litigate, significant legal issues confronting America,” on its website.

The Online Media Legal Network offers free legal services to people and groups that meet certain criteria, which includes freelancers who earn $45,000 a year or less or are married and make $75,000 or less as a household. Lawyers will accept work that ranges from Freedom of Information Act requests to going to court.

Free legal services can be useful even if the freelancer is not the defendant. Freelance photographer Christopher Fitzgerald brought cases against CBS for alleged copyright infringement by two Boston CBS affiliates for use of a photograph he had taken of Stephen Flemmi, a member of the Mob, according to the CMLP database. The two sides eventually reached a settlement. Fitzgerald didn’t return a request for comment.

In some cases, freelancers have represented themselves in legal situations. In one such case described in the CMLP database, freelancer Lee Kaplan represented himself in a case he brought against a student blogger, who he alleged had written libelous information about him. Both parties represented themselves in small claims court and Kaplan was awarded $7,500, to be paid by the defendant. The decision was upheld on appeal. Kaplan didn’t return a request for comment.

In a press release, David Ardia, director and co-founder of the Citizen Media Law Project, said that “unlike established media organizations that have the resources to pursue important reporting in the face of legal challenges, many online ventures lack the expertise and financial resources to protect themselves and thrive in an uncertain legal environment. In order for these new media ventures to survive and flourish, they need a legal safety net, and OMLN aims to provide that safety net with the help of lawyers interested in promoting a vibrant online media environment.”

Read more about freelance life:

Read it, Like it, Buy it!

Freelancers Stress Flexibility in Tough Economy

Read the story here

A snippet: “All this focus on Facebook friends and Twitter followers and sowing stories and links across the Web is dramatically altering a side of the business that the newsroom never much thought about: distribution.”

Read the story here