It starts with thinking about social networks not as trendy playthings but as communities in which people share information about their interests with friends. Instead of calling someone on the phone or having coffee with a neighbor to share news, members of these communities post information on the Internet.

The real problem is that there’s not enough nonprofit funding available.

Let’s start with what Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson got right in “The Reconstruction of American Journalism,” their ballyhooed and much-discussed report on the state and future of journalism.

This is great.