The cutbacks in staffing for newsrooms, mostly at the state capital level, have sparked a new wave of news outlets, many funded by conservative and “free market” organizations.

These non-profit groups -- political/news hybrids -- many of which decline to reveal their funding sources, represent a new level of news coverage.

The groups range from Idaho to Maine and have a variety of issues they seek to cover. Most are focusing on state government, with many eyeing spending and financial issues.

Several of the news outlets have found their reporters through Talentmarket.org, which offers classifieds for the “free market” movement.

The Talentmarket site states: “Our mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector. We provide free recruiting services to conservative and libertarian think tanks, policy organizations, and research centers dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government.”

Justin Keener, vice president for policy and communication at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, spoke about the recent hiring of an investigative reporter for his group: “It is to bring information on state and local spending to the public. It is focused on government spending and transparency.”

The reporter, Sara Talbert, is a television veteran who was hired earlier this year and works on the Foundation's Texas Budget Source Web site, covering state news.

“The capitol press corps in Texas has shrunk dramatically,” Keener said, adding that his site “is not meant to replace the traditional newspaper reporter; the focus is spending and transparency.”

The Foundation has a clear conservative bent, and a wealthy supporter base. It took in some $3 million in 2008. Its chairwoman is Wendy Gramm, wife of former Texas Republican Senator Phil Gramm.

The Foundation's Web site states that its mission “is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.”

Another new outlet is the Pennsylvania Independent, funded by the Commonwealth Foundation of Harrisburg, Pa. Its three-person news crew launched Jan. 25, according to Matthew Brouillette, Foundation president.

“We are a public policy entity and research institute and we take a more free market approach on issues,” he said. “We do not look at social issues.”

In existence since 1988, the Foundation chose to launch a news site after the shrinking statehouse coverage became too much, he said. “We have gone from a lot of state coverage to very minimal,” he added. “While we have a policy perspective on things, we seek to have independent news coverage.”

Brouillette cited the issue of the state seeking to place a toll on Interstate 80 through Pennsylvania as an issue the news outlet has broken and monitored.

He contends the news site has no political bent, but just focuses on important financial topics.

“I think the content has demonstrated its independence and value,” he said.

According to its website, The Commonwealth Foundation is: “an independent, non-profit research and educational institute that develops and advances public policies based on the nation's founding principles of limited government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility.”

Among its goals is “challenging the general perception that government intervention is the most appropriate and most efficient means of solving societal problems.”

Because many of the groups openly support libertarian, conservative or free market financial ideas, their coverage may come into question.

“There is a question of the reporting itself, any slanting or bias, and the news they choose to cover,” says Amy Mitchell, deputy director of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. “Another question is how transparent are they with news audiences about who they are and their ties to funding or advocacy.”

The Idaho Freedom Foundation is another one. Launched in January 2009, it created its Idaho Reporter news outlet just last December. Three staffers cover the statehouse, according to IFF Director Wayne Hoffman, who claims their goal is watchdog journalism only.

“We tell people to look at the site and the content and judge the content,” he says. “Look at what is there.”

Like the others, he will not disclose the Foundation's funding. But he says the spark was a reduction in state capital reporting: “The mainstream media has stopped covering state government at the level they used to.”

The Idaho Freedom Foundation's Web site states it is an “educational and research organization that develops and advocates the principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, private property rights, economic freedom, and limited government. The Foundation's mission is to keep Idaho free by generating research and data on key issues, and recommending the findings to opinion leaders, policymakers, media and the citizens of Idaho.”

Among the items on the Web site is a link to a petition that seeks support to “block the federal government's health insurance mandate!”

Then there is the Rio Grande Foundation of Sante Fe, N.M., which has hired a new capitol reporter for its Capitol Report New Mexico, according to Foundation president Paul Gessing. He said the person, whom he declined to identify, is not on the job yet.

But once assigned, the reporter will target issues of interest to the group related to state government.

“He is going to be someone who has the grasp of politics and policy and the free market,” said Gessing. “We make no bones about going after anyone who cheats the system.”

Gessing, who also declined to reveal his group's donors, said “our goal is to do a basic public service.”

The Rio Grande Foundation's Web site states it is “a research institute dedicated to increasing liberty and prosperity for all of New Mexico's citizens. We do this by informing New Mexicans of the importance of individual freedom, limited government, and economic opportunity.”

A major entity in the creation of many new news sites is the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, based in North Dakota. It has helped raise money for numerous new news sites.

Franklin Center officials declined to be interviewed about their efforts, which help provide reporters to outlets in 40 states, according to Associated Press. But they issued the following statement:

“The Franklin Center is dedicated to providing investigative reporters and non-profit organizations at the state and local level with the training, expertise and technical support necessary to pursue journalistic endeavors. By networking with state-based think tanks, local non-profits, and independent Watchdog reporters across the country, The Franklin Center undertakes programs that promote investigative reporting and the education of the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, waste and abuse of public trust by elected officials. In addition, the Franklin Center helps connect think tanks with others who are working to produce statehouse reporting in the non-profit model, and helps these organizations with grant-writing and with identifying sources of financial support.”

A National Journal story in December reported that Franklin Center President Jason Stverak “was executive director of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign in North Dakota, and, before that, executive director of that state's Republican Party.”

Among the Franklin Center creations is Missouri News Horizon, which launched in January and has two staffers, headed by News Director Rebecca Townsend, a veteran of the Dow Jones Newswires.

She said an anonymous donor funded her newsroom through the Franklin Center, but declined to identify the person. “It is enough to keep us going for a little while, but we need to develop our own funding stream,” Townsend said. “It is state government coverage for now with more of a presence at the capitol.”

For now, the news site is posting items on a blog, with a main website coming. Stories have ranged from state cancer research funds being cut to educational spending proposals.

Hired through a recruiter, Townsend said she has been promised editorial independence. “We will distribute our stories for free to the public,” she vowed.