Pierre Omidyar has infused $50 million as initial funding for First Look Media, a journalism venture the eBay founder has started with Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story on former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden for The Guardian.
The new entity takes the place of NewCo that was first established by Omidyar. First Look Media will have one arm that will develop new media technology and the other arm devoted to non-profit work that will focus on independent journalism that will help mold engaged citizens. Omidyar has committed $250 million for the new project.
"This initial capital is the first step of many to bring the vision of this news organization to life. I am deeply committed to the long-‐term effort to build a new and exciting platform for journalism - one that not only provides the innovation and infrastructure journalists need to do their best work, but that brings their reporting and storytelling to the widest possible audience," explained Omidyar in a press statement.
The initial funding will be used to secure and build office space for the new company in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and New York.
Omidyar's advisor Jay Rosen, who is a professor of journalism at New York Unversity, also shared some information about the set up of First Look Media:
"There are other known combinations of business and non-profit in journalism land. The Poynter Institute is a non-profit school for journalists that owns a controlling interest in the Times Publishing Company, which publishes the Tampa Bay Times. The Guardian Media Group is a for-profit company in the UK that is owned by the Scott Trust, which exists solely to guarantee the independence and public service mission of the Guardian, in all of its forms.ProPublica is a non-profit investigative newsroom, donor supported, that sometimes shares its work with for-profit newspapers," Rosen explained through a blog post.
Greenwald who worked for The Guardian gained support from idealistic people for his works as a litigator defending civil liberties and was the person contacted by Snowden to leak sensitive files the latter sneaked out of NSA servers. Greenwald together with Laura Poitras, a documentarian, met Snowden in Hong Kong in June.
First Look Media has also tapped Poitras, Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post, and Jeremy Scahill who covered national security issues for the Nation.
