Out-of-work print journalists are not the only ones flocking to alternative media markets; some working reporters are leaving the traditional newsroom to pursue a career in new forms of journalism.

Emily Ramshaw is a good example. The 28-year-old was a rising star at the Dallas Morning News, but jumped at the chance to join 10 other journalists at the Texas Tribune, a non-profit news website.

“I feel, and still feel, that the newspaper business is in serious crisis. I’m not content to cling to a deck chair and go down with a sinking ship,” Ramshaw said in a phone interview. “We’re trying to prepare for the next incarnation of journalism. If this venture is going to work, it’s going to work because serious, talented journalists were brave enough to take the risk.”

Layoffs, hiring freezes and other cutbacks at major newspapers have flooded the job market with veteran and entry level journalists. The non-profit news-gathering model provides such reporters with an ever expanding number of opportunities without necessarily diminishing the talent available to print media. If, however, reporters like Ms. Ramshaw continue to seek work outside the traditional newsroom, newspapers may face a new threat to their viability.

Ms. Ramshaw feared that not leaving traditional journalism now would hurt her future job prospects if the newspapers fortunes do not take a new turn.

“I was wondering if I was going to wake up and be 45 years old and in an industry that was dying, without the skill sets to be an interactive reporter,” Ramshaw said.

Non-profit media is nothing new for Texans. The state is home to journalism organizations like Texas Watchdog, which the Society of Professional Journalists awarded with coveted “Open Doors Award” in 2009.  Former print reporter Trent Seibert founded the organization in August 2008 to fill a perceived gap in state coverage. It did not take long for the site to make a name for itself as a hard-hitting and legitimate publication. Time Magazine praised the group for its “feisty investigations” just 9 months into its existence.

That kind of rapid growth could prove troublesome for traditional media. If the non-profit model continues to attract talented and hungry reporters, there is no telling how far such news sites will go.