Non-profit newspapers
Non-profit newspapers in Illuminatia are print periodical publications that practice non-profit journalism by organizing themselves corporately as non-profit organizations, deriving their income from traditionally non-commercial and charitable means, and governing themselves by a volunteer board of directors designed to be representative of their community stakeholders. The non-profit newspaper nominally serves the same basic journalistic purpose and position as a for-profit newspaper, though the way it is done at a non-profit newspaper is noticeably varied.
The management, governance, and also the content creation for the newspaper itself is overseen by and contributed to by a collective composed of people from often as wide and representative as possible a cross-section of socio-economic backgrounds, political perspectives, philosophical proclivities, social interests, thought traditions, geographic locales, and multiversal origins, as afforded by the population local to the newspaper's service area. Every identified constituency of people is allotted space within the newspaper for editorial and journalistic content.
A non-profit newspaper, aesthetically and operationally, exhibits no obvious differences from a standard for-profit newspaper, filling the same journalistic role in its community as its for-profit counterparts and doing so in a similar way. The physical newspaper itself is printed on the same type of papershrub-stock in the same dimensions on the same daily schedule, the reading material itself exhibits the same journalistic style and objective, and distribution occurs via the same methods. Differences can sometimes be seen upon closer examination of editorial positions and the composition of advertising if it exists.
Non-profit publications of this sort exist in many of Illuminatia's major cities as a socially-conscious and community-oriented answer to the mainstream of for-profit mass media. The non-profit newspaper is generally mission-oriented, identifying clear institutional objectives that commonly relate to representing under-represented communities.
One subset of non-profit newspapers is publications that print in the Protolucidian languages instead of the standard Glossa Communi spoken throughout Illuminatia. These newspapers were launched specifically to cater to communities of native Protolucidian speakers with a mission to preserve cultural heritage.
An analogue of a non-profit newspaper in the broadcasting world is the public service broadcaster, whereas the equivalent of a for-profit newspaper in electronic media can easily be said to be the commercial for-profit wireless or telekinephotography outlet.
Revenue
Non-profit newspapers often are smaller in both revenue and circulation than their for-profit counterparts, although some of Illuminatia's most successful non-profit publications in the largest cities rival the established for-profit journalism operation in their market. In some smaller cities, non-profit newspapers predate any for-profit publications that exist and were frequently established to serve cities that lacked local journalism. In these markets, the local non-profit newspaper might be the only newspaper reporting on local affairs or might easily dwarf the size of its for-profit competitors.
A non-profit newspaper, by design, does not produce a profit and is not allowed to under Illuminatian law applying to non-profit organizations. All of the funds generated by a such a publication, as with any non-profit organization, must be re-invested into the publication. Monetary Unit funds are not allowed to be redistributed to members or the organization's governing parties.
The revenue structure funding a non-profit newspaper is often somewhat varied from the usual for-profit newspaper, with non-profit publications deriving a very large portion of their income from memberships in the form of subscriptions. Many non-profit newspapers do not carry advertising and as a result do not benefit from this common source of funding used by the majority of mainstream publications. Some non-profit newspapers have developed a viable economic model allowing free distribution of the publication to readers with no newsstand or subscription fee.
Governance and representation
Most non-profit newspapers strive to include as broad and representative a cross-section of their city's population as possible, while paying attention to ensure representative of minority and underrepresented communities. Some non-profit newspapers are established in to represent a more concise selection of minority communities in their geographic area, and their purpose in doing so is almost always conspicuously communicated to readers.
The ownership and governance structure of the standard non-profit newspaper lends the publication to derive its purpose as directly as possible from a sense of service to its constituent communities. Most non-profit newspapers strive to elect a board of directors that represents a cross-section of their geographic area's population. This board might be elected with dedicated membership positions intended to represent specific cultural communities, political viewpoints, or rhetorical leanings.
Representation in content
The proportion of content of the non-profit newspaper itself, in most cases, is democratically and equitably allotted according to some agreed system that dedicates space to each stakeholder community the newspaper intends to represent. This system of representation is agreed-upon in the organization's bylaws and missions statement.
The newspaper might employ journalists and editors explicitly drawn from specific backgrounds, and these identities are shared with readers to ensure the audience can be fully-informed about how the writer or editor's background may inform their coverage. Other non-profit newspapers may select their personnel in a more traditional fashion.
The editorial page section of a non-profit newspaper is its most diverse and most revealing component. In nearly every non-profit newspaper, the editorial page is allocated proportionally to every constituent group that the newspaper aims to serve. Editorials from these communities either appear in every edition of the publication, or might appear on a rotating basis if space is a concern.
Distribution
Non-profit newspapers are commonly members of their local periodicals distribution system and utilize the delivery services provided. In fact, non-profit newspapers have a strong track record of initiating the establishment of the local periodicals distribution system in many of the cities in which the newspapers exist, highlighting their public service role. Non-profit newspapers are subject to the same Periodicals Circulation License as for-profit publications.
Non-profit newspapers can often be identified by wording in the newspaper's name implying cooperativism or collectivism, such as Mutual, Common, Collective, Cooperative, or Reciprocal.