Stimulus Money For Journalists

It's not just for speculation anymore.

Today's new-media ethical quandary: Should a nonprofit news outlet dedicated to public-interest investigative journalism extract substantial amounts of funding from the government it's covering?

That's the question being confronted by the award-winning San Francisco Public Press, which, according to director Michael Stoll, is now paying the salary of one of its editorial employees with money from a San Francisco jobs-stimulus program.

Stoll would not disclose how much money multimedia producer Monica Jensen is receiving through JOBS NOW!, saying the the information is a private personnel issue. However, he said that the city is currently paying her entire salary, which he described as "competitive." An official at the city's Human Services Agency, which oversees JOBS NOW! -- administered through the city, the program's money comes from federal stimulus funds -- did not disclose the grant amount by press time.