Question of the Day!

Whether it's a media outlet or any other venture, I think the "best way" to fund something is through a diverse set of revenue streams. If an organization is wholly (or even largely) dependent on a select few sources of revenue (big donors, advertising, etc.), there will always be the risk that the investors can end up influencing the product in order to keep the money coming in. Which is a particularly dangerous thing when it comes to media, if the goal is to be media that presents unbiased or objective reporting.

If I were starting a media outlet, I'd want to make sure it was funded through a broad range of initiatives, including advertising, donations (both high and low dollar), licensing/merchandising, sponsorship, public funds, corporate investments/holdings, etc. Then, if any one source of revenue were to try to put pressure on the product, the response could be determined on the merits and not out of dependency on the funding continuing to flow from that one source.