Nonprofit News Groups Considering a Merger

The Bay Citizen was launched in 2010 with grand ambitions, $5 million in seed money. The Bay Citizen is considering a potential merger, according to people involved in the discussions, a move that could see the publication absorbed by an older but similar nonprofit news organization in Berkeley, and raising questions about whether the founding patron’s vision for a revitalization of Bay Area news reporting can survive him. The unexpected death of Mr. Hellman left The Bay Citizen without its founder and benefactor. In September, the news organization’s founding editor-in-chief, Jonathan Weber, resigned abruptly. People involved with the discussions stressed this week that no merger agreement has been reached, and that the legal and financial logistics of combining two California nonprofit organizations, both of them regulated under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service code, are daunting. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/business/media/nonprofit-news-groups-considering-a-merger.html?_r=1&ref=media