If Philadelphia Newspapers Wanted to Convert to Nonprofits, What Would Stand in Their Way?

If newspapers are having trouble turning a profit without deep annual cuts, how about becoming a nonprofit?

That question’s been asked a lot over the last decade of print decline—even though it glides past the fact that nonprofits need revenue and a business model just as much as for-profits do.

The latest possibility to be raised: the two Philadelphia dailies. The owner of the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News has discussed creating a nonprofit organization that would “align” the papers and Philly.com with Temple University, local news site Billy Penn reported last week. (The company wouldn’t elaborate on the plans, and Temple didn’t respond to my request for comment.)