The nonprofit slated to take ownership of The Spokesman-Review announced Wednesday it met its initial fundraising goal, triggering a monthslong transition period that will move the paper’s nearly 140-year ownership by the Cowles family to a community-operated news organization.
Rob Curley, founder of the Comma Community Journalism Lab, announced the organization has raised $1 million cash and more than $1 million in committed donations. Curley is also the paper’s executive editor, a role he’s held for 10 years.
The fundraising benchmark is enough to trigger a transition period, at the end of which the Cowles family will pass along ownership of the 143-year-old newspaper to Comma and match community donations with their own $2 million check. Newspaper publisher Stacey Cowles will sit on the nonprofit’s 11-person board of directors, which includes Curley.
