In Commonwealth Magazine 's Spring 2008 issue, Gabrielle Gurley takes a look at how budget cuts and industry lethargy are spurring innovative new methods of investigative journalism.

"...with shrinking budgets at newspapers and television stations, news executives are experimenting with new models for investigative journalism. Some are enlisting graduate and undergraduate students, others are considering joint projects with media competitors, and still others are exploring a nonprofit model. These symbiotic relationships are transforming the media landscape, changing not only the way investigations get done, but who does them."

A lifelong progressive-left activist is beta-testing a new online news service for metropolitan Boston. He says it will invite news contributions from anyone, may try an innovative co-operative ownership model, and will cover politics, conferences, demonstrations and the arts, among other things.

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UPDATE: The Day's first story.

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At a time when national newspapers are retreating from international coverage, The Day, a 40,000 circulation daily newspaper in New London, Conn., is sending a reporter and photographer to Iraq to take a look at a prison camp -- it's third deployment of news staff to the Midwest war zone.

 Why would a small New England daily in tough economic times make that decision?

UPDATED March 21, 2008:

A Vermont trial judge this week dismissed a libel suit against the operators of theThe owners of the iBrattleboro local online news/community site in Brattleboro, Vt., are reacting to dismissal of a libel suit filed last fall. The judge found Lise LePage and Chris Grotke were for a third party's postings under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The case had been widely watched as a test of legal liablity for blog postings and the extent to which a state court would follow Section 230 as controlling. David Ardia, an attorney with the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School, reports on the decision, filed March 18. DOWNLOAD PDF OF DECISION.