In the search for news business models, one of the most intriguing experiments underway is Spot.Us. Founded by David Cohn, Spot.Us creates a marketplace between reporters and communities to try a new paradigm for funding journalism. Cohn was among the most recent recipients of the Knight Foundation News Challenge Grants last spring for this project.
The concept works like this: A reporter posts an idea for a story along with an amount they need to produce the work. Members of the community can then donate money through the Web site to fund that work. The checks aren’t cashed, so to speak, unless enough money is raised. Spot.Us has already funded a few stories while the site was still being built. The stories are then available for any publication to run for free, though they can be exclusive is a news organizations contributes enough. As Cohn explains, this can be a great way to stretch the freelance budget.
At the moment, Spot.Us focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area. So if you’re a freelancer or full-time journalist working in the area, then check it out. And if you have an interest in supporting quality journalism, then think about making a donation. The concept really works around micro-finance, so the donation doesn’t need to be huge. Lots of little donations can really leverage the network effect and make things happen.
Will this work? I hope so. It’s off to a strong start. Is it the answer to all of journalism’s problems? No, and Cohn doesn’t claim it is. But it represents the right kind of thinking for this era: Some thing that harness the network power available through the Internet while also thinking progressively about what the underlying business model looks like.
That’s the kind of innovation that’s worth your support.
SharonTime to get my vote on – but before I do – some answers to your questions.The best way to stay informed about Spot.Us is to register. All registered members will get occasional email updates about Spot.Us’ progress and what cities we are expanding to, etc.I do not determine the price of each investigation – the reporter does. Spot.Us is NOT a news organization – it is a platform that enables independent journalists to use community funded reporting. I am not an editor.I am planning on moving beyond the Bay – but since we haven’t even launched yet – it’s a bit too early to know where and when. Hopefully soon although I love the Bay.
David, once it’s launched how will we know how it’s going – i.e., how many contributed, what methods you used to sollict those contributions, and so forth? It would also be helpful for others to know how you determined the “price” you put on each investigation – i.e., when you know you have enough financial backing to pursue the story. And, are you planning on expanding beyond the Bay area? If so, do you know the time frame for that?
Chris O'Brien says: Jay Rosen says: "The cost of changing settled routines seems too high, but the cost of not changing is, in the long term, even higher. A good example is the predicament of the newspaper press: the print edition provides most of the revenues, but it cannot provide a future. I know of no evidence to show that young people are picking up the print habit. So if the cost of abandoning print is too high, the cost of sticking with it may be even higher, though slower to reveal itself. That's a problem."
Chris O'Brien says: Vinicius Vacanti writes: "If you think about what makes Groupon truly successful you come across two things: they have 9 million people on their email list and their users trust Groupon to recommend great deals."
Chris O'Brien says: E.B. Boyd writes: "At dinner last night, a friend told me he has no interest in picking up a newspaper because the information in it is "outdated" and "fabricated." Interesting. So what does that mean for the journalism industry?"
Chris O'Brien says: Katie Donnelly writes: "Last month, KQED News in San Francisco dramatically expanded the scope of its news coverage with a new website, an increase from six to 16 local radio newscasts and the addition of eight news staffers, including six producers/reporters, a developer and a social media specialist. Its expansion will continue over the next several months (look for a new news blog in the next couple of months)."
Chris O'Brien says: Alan Mutter writes: "Though hundreds of news shops of every shape and size already cover Northern California, Yahoo will be an instantly formidable competitor because of its vast market reach."
Chris O'Brien says: Rita Hibbard writes: "Doing good work isn’t enough to save journalism. Fighting to preserve the legacy isn’t the place you want to be. I knew that going into the launch of InvestigateWest just over a year ago, hard lessons learned living through the closure of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a newspaper with a long history of strong local coverage and investigative journalism."
Chris O'Brien says: Alan Mutter writes: "The flagship newspaper produces barely half of the weekday audience delivered by some major metro publishers, according to an analysis of data recently issued by the Audit Bureau of Circulations."
Technically, actually – not 100% launched yet. Going to announce it soon though…… but not yet.
SharonTime to get my vote on – but before I do – some answers to your questions.The best way to stay informed about Spot.Us is to register. All registered members will get occasional email updates about Spot.Us’ progress and what cities we are expanding to, etc.I do not determine the price of each investigation – the reporter does. Spot.Us is NOT a news organization – it is a platform that enables independent journalists to use community funded reporting. I am not an editor.I am planning on moving beyond the Bay – but since we haven’t even launched yet – it’s a bit too early to know where and when. Hopefully soon
although I love the Bay.
David, once it’s launched how will we know how it’s going – i.e., how many contributed, what methods you used to sollict those contributions, and so forth? It would also be helpful for others to know how you determined the “price” you put on each investigation – i.e., when you know you have enough financial backing to pursue the story. And, are you planning on expanding beyond the Bay area? If so, do you know the time frame for that?