Over the years, the phrase "By Charles M. Sennott" on a newspaper article signaled a hard-hitting dispatch from some far corner of the world. This well-earned reputation was never clearer than at PRSA's recent annual meeting. Trading his reporter's notebook for a microphone, Sennott treated PR practitioners to an engaging and off-the-cuff discussion ranging from the future of the news media to his new editorial venture, GlobalPost.com.
 
A native of the Boston area, Sennott broke into journalism with the New York Daily News as a special assignment reporter and city editor. There, he became one of the first staffers on the scene of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City. 
 
Sennott's career eventually landed him back home with the Boston Globe, where a series of reporting roles on the international desk led to his being named the paper's Middle East bureau chief. From his base in Jerusalem, Sennott covered the region from 1997 to 2001. Momentously, that final year, he accepted reassignment to London. He was there as the Globe's European bureau chief when the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks occurred. As a "shoe-leather, go where the news is happening" foreign correspondent, Sennott was one of the first journalists on the ground in Afghanistan to report on America's initial military response. Later he found himself at the front lines again in the subsequent war in Iraq. He returned to the U.S. in 2005, where he was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. 
 
In early 2009, Sennott partnered with Phil Balboni, founder and president of New England Cable News, to inaugurate a media outlet for delivering in-depth international news reports filed by in-country correspondents.
 
In the current economic climate, why launch a new press organization?
 
The newspaper industry's dire financial state is scarcely news to anyone. Pressure from a weak economy and the loss of audience to internet-based media outlets has forced many leading papers into Draconian budget cuts that eliminated foreign bureaus. A list publications that shuttered overseas offices reads like a Who's Who of journalism: the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Miami Herald. Needless to say, it means readers are seeing a lot less international news coverage. 
 
"We used to have a lot more eyeballs covering the world," says Sennott.  "Phil Balboni and I partnered to fill the void of foreign, international journalism."
 
The startup of GlobalPost is not only about the launch of another publication, but is also a look at how the news industry can evolve to survive and thrive in the years ahead.
 
According to Sennott, great journalism has great value. GlobalPost embodies this value by going beyond what wire services or bloggers can deliver with content from more than 65 correspondents in nearly 50 countries -- all of whom have deep, on-site reporting experience with newspapers and news services. 
 
GlobalPost's business model rests on three revenue streams: online advertising, syndication of content and some subscription fees. The organization's earliest syndication partners included the New York Daily News, the Huffington Post Web site and the Newark Star-Ledger, as well as notable international publications like Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. The main site is free, but subscriptions apply to premium content and membership privileges (like the ability to join its online community and to help determine what stories correspondents cover in-depth).
 
So, as GlobalPost.com pursues this approach, what is the future of its print-based relatives?
 
"Newspapers have gone the way of the clipper ships," Sennott asserts. "A newspaper is only one product. It would be more effective to rethink their business models and call themselves 'news organizations.'"
 
Sennott calls GlobalPost a hybrid news organization. In addition to its three revenue streams, the organization distinguishes itself in the way it compensates employees. Correspondents are salaried at rates above what other major newspapers pay foreign correspondents and their compensation includes shares in the venture that vest over five years. Sennott also believes GlobalPost, through its online community, allows journalists based in locales around the world to experience the traditional "water cooler culture" and talk with their colleagues to get feedback on stories. 
 
GlobalPost executives believe that the organization will be profitable in 2012. It's pretty much a guarantee that much of the editorial world will be watching, and hoping to learn from their experience.