In doing research on the launch of The Ah! Channel, I'm studying how others are working to provide original news content in a meaningful way.

My colleague, Nate Silver, for example, has hired more than a dozen journalists:

Nate Silver's online adventure

There are, of course, blogs that focus on just one topic, like this well-regarded website dedicated to healthcare reform:

The Incidental Economist

There are plenty examples of bonafide news websites that launched on their own without a lot of backing.  Most I find I would not want to emulate, in large part because they are just to superficial.  I think of TMZ, but there are other examples:

BuzzFeed

The reality is that good, hard-hitting journalism is expensive.  Real reporting is when you work long hours to uncover things that people don't want to talk about but that's important to upholding our democracy.

Reporters understand how dangerous their jobs can be.  Some get killed or find themselves in jail:

Jailed Reporters

Freedom is not free, and a strong and independent press is not cheap.