The New York Times recently featured a report about a new world news website that has a unique business model:
With 65 correspondents worldwide – drawn from a surfeit of experienced reporters eager to continue working in their specialties even as potential employers disappear – GlobalPost has begun offering a mix of news and features that only a handful of other news organizations can rival. Recent articles, free at GlobalPost.com, included reports on Thailand’s Islamic insurgency and Indian yogis worried about the financial crisis. That ad-supported reporting is only one part of the GlobalPost business plan. If it is to succeed, it will depend in part on how many people sign up for a separate paid section of the site, which was to have been available in test mode beginning last week but is now expected to go online in the coming days.
I was browsing the site and noticed that they have been running a series called For Which It Stands which seems particularly noteworthy considering our focus on the U.S. role in the world:
From every corner of the world, more than 40 GlobalPost correspondents and columnists have contributed nearly 50 stories built around a single question: What does the idea of America mean to the world? This guide will help you navigate the series, which begins with our launch and runs through President Barack Obama’s swearing in as president – an event billed as the first global inauguration. We will add to the series in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency, what he has called a “chance to reboot America’s image around the world.” During this time, we want to know what you think America means to the world, and also what the world means to America.
It makes for some interesting reading and they invite comments. If you have thoughts on “What does the idea of America mean to the world?” drop by and let them know and also let us know in the comments here.
