I think this is a little doom and gloom for what is a very well intentioned project with an independent oversight board. Is the theory here that a paper receiving this funding would hesitate to expose corruption or be critical of local projects? To be honest, it's just not enough money. $100,000 a year being split among several local news orgs is a nice donation that pays part of someone's salary.
I wonder if corporate funding is the only way to get professional news or not.
That's definitely not what the author is implying. Direct corporate funding has all the same potential problems but with less oversight, more money, and with way more things to hide.