John Thornton, a financier, died on Saturday in Austin, Texas, at 59. He founded The Texas Tribune, a digital nonprofit news organization in 2009, and the American Journalism Project, which supports local digital newsrooms. Thornton helped change the financial model for sustainable local journalism by tapping big philanthropies and wealthy donors. He invested $2.5 million in the The Texas Tribune’s launch. The organization now has a newsroom of over 50 staff members and has won multiple awards. The American Journalism Project has raised over $225 million to support 50 local digital nonprofit news outlets in 36 states.
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