Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, has funded the startup of Sharesleuth, a website that will "focus on corporate chicanery and securities fraud," according to the NYT article.

An excerpt:

Mr. Cuban told PaidContent.org, which was the first to report on the new venture, that his HDnet cable network and HDfilms production company would be involved, though he did not give details. He also declined to say how much cash he is putting up for Sharesleuth.

Mr. Cuban wrote on his blog (blogmaverick.com) that he planned to use the site in part to make personal investment decisions. Gary Weiss, a former Business Week reporter, registered his shock on his blog. "What distinguishes journalism from stock research," he wrote, "is that you carry out sleuthing for public enlightenment and only public enlightenment, not private gain." (garyweiss.blogspot.com)

Cynthia McCune, who teaches news writing at San Jose State University, wondered on her blog whether Sharesleuth offered "a glimpse of journalism's future." The site "sounds promising," she wrote. "I've been wondering how investigative journalism could survive in an era when the mainstream media seem cowed by the Bush administration and hamstrung by the financial interests of their corporate owners." (mccunications.blogspot.com)

In a recent post on his blog, Mr. Cuban laments what he calls the loss of creativity, humor and spine in mainstream journalism. Young people aren't turning away from mainstream media because they don't care about current events, he writes, but because the media don't know how to connect with them. He adds that young people find traditional media boring with no "payoff" like that offered by the pugnacious Mike Wallace or the ribald Howard Stern.

"Even for a 21-year-old, it's not just about Paris Hilton, Bradgelina and the latest rap feud," he writes. "Kids want to learn. They want to know. Journalism matters."