Nonprofit newspapers?

The New Yorker -- does anyone want to read it only online? -- makes the case for nonprofit newspapers in an essay by Steve Coll. It's a thought, and something that I think has the potential to preserve our democracy (and, yes, Dr. McAdams, I do think print newspapers are vastly superior to online, and that they play a significant role in the informed electorate needed for a democracy).

It's a thoughtful essay, primarily laying out the case for large papers like the Post or New York Times. But I think the same case could be made for regional or even local newspapers, which would require much smaller endowments. At some point, American leadership is going to realize the need for that informed electorate, and I can see no greater purpose for some of the giant foundations -- many of which already are spending far more funds than are needed for smaller newspapers, which still generate vast sums of money, for informational purposes.

Of course, the potential drawback might be that the foundations will slant news coverage. A lot of their current spending is to promote political ideals (the book, The Bell Curve, was underwritten by the Bradley Foundation), but I would think that public pressure would preserve some independence if newspapers were funded by foundations.