In a complex transaction designed to strengthen nonpartisan religion reporting, the newly nonprofit Religion News Service received a grant of almost $3.5 million from the Lilly Endowment and was acquired by the Religion NewsÂwriters Association, effective June 1.
As newspaper circulation numbers fell and online journalism struggled for profits, “religion reporting became a lower priority,” said RNA president Steve Maynard. When the for-profit Advance Publications sought a buyer for RNS in the fall of 2009, the Washington-based news service looked for help from the professional journalists’ organization beyond the RNA’s existing role of providing contracted assistance to RNS’s business operations.