When Al Jazeera is considered a more objective news source than any U.S. MSM, it's time to take action. Y'all know I don't have a pot to piss in at the moment, however, it's time to get a truly objective news source going. With an editorial board composed of a few liberals and a few conservatives such as myself to make sure the news IS objectively and professionally reported, we would have a long overdue service to provide to the general public.

There is a ton of writing and other professional talent on OS. I have an idea of how this could work starting on a shoestring budget. Essentially, it would be an employee owned news organization free from political pressure to slant the news one way or the other.

Post a reply if you may have an interest and I'll offer more details. If there are any lawyers out there who might want to help out with a pro-bono incorporation/set up, please reply too.

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As businesses grow, they tend to get top heavy and when you couple that with the fact that most large companies are run by psychopaths and sociopaths who make as much as 30k/hr. you have a recipe for failure.

This news organization would start as an internet based outfit. Management would be kept to a minimum and a detailed corporate charter would limit executive pay to reasonable levels.

I have always had a problem with pay per click advertising as it is subject to abuse and it makes it difficult to budget your ad expense. Also, Google (Adsense-which everyone seems to use) ownership is too political for my taste. This news organization would  charge a set fee for ad placement and control it in-house. Account executives would solicit advertisers.

The website would have a simple logical layout starting with national news and readers could then select news by state/country.

Each state would have a state director under which would be the reporters and an advertising account executives. Larger states would have a few deputy state directors. A national editorial board consisting of, say, three liberals and three conservatives would attempt to guarantee that the news stories were presented in an objective manner. Strict guidelines for reporters would help ensure that only the basic 5w's and one H of a news story were reported without political slant one way or another.

OS members would provide the initial group of reporters, which would give us immediate coverage in all 50 states.  Eventually, a small studio would be developed so that a couple of news anchors could deliver the national news over the internet. (The commercial real estate market is still in the tank in many areas and a small building could be purchased on the cheap) Reporters would be actual employees instead of independent contractors and would be paid on a per story basis.  My wife works for a CPA and there are payroll programs out there that can calculate state and local taxes so that a minimal staff would be needed for accounting purposes. Human resources personnel would also be kept to a minimum.

Press credentials would be issued by the national headquarters. News stories would be syndicated in a manner similar to AP. The news organization would own the rights to any photos/video taken by the reporters but would allow attribution. Equipment such as still or video cameras would initially be furnished by each reporter. Later, a buying pool would be established to purchase basic equipment at a discount by the reporters. When ad revenue was sufficient, the organization would purchase the equipment. Basic HD video cameras can be had for under $300 on sale.

The news anchor broadcasts would eventually go 24 hours and, hopefully, a satellite transponder could be leased or a satellite could be launced. (These aren't cheap, but they are not as pricey as you think either) Broadcast trucks could be purchased as ad revenue allows.

At a minimum, even working part time for a legitimate news organization would look good on a resume and hopefully the busier reporters could generate full time revenue. The key is to keep overhead low and pay reasonable.

This is not a pie in the sky deal. With the right start up talent this organization could be up and running in a relatively short period of time. Website design could be done by capable volunteers, with possible future reimbursement.

It would take time and effort to get going, but it certainly could be done.