Put Up and Read Up

First came “crowdsourcing,” the fancy term for journalists tapping the collective knowledge of their sources (typically through the Internet) to find news tips and expand their networks.

Now a similar word is entering the media lexicon: “crowdfunding.” The idea is simple. People who are interested in reading an article about a certain topic collectively raise money to pay a reporter to investigate.

The model, also called “community funded journalism,” is being tested by a 26-year-old former technology reporter who has received financial backing (a two-year, $340,000 grant) from the Knight Foundation.

David Cohn, project director of the nonprofit Spot Us, spoke with This Media Moment last week about the state of journalism…

"I don't even have to explain this to people outside the media world any more: Everyone knows that newspapers are falling apart in terms of a business model. The newspaper can fall apart. I don’t care as long as journalism doesn’t. Newspapers play an important role in local communities – that of a watchdog. Traditionally investigative journalism was bundled in newspapers, but now with the Internet and the economic crumbling we’re seeing the unbundling of journalism. Audiences who are passionate about investigative journalism won’t necessarily see it in their newspapers, but they still need a place to go."

… and about his endeavor.

“The idea is to make journalism more participatory. This gives a new sense of editorial power to the public. Imagine if you went to a restaurant and a waiter said, ‘Here’s what you’re going to order.’ Essentially that’s what the media have done. The public should be able to create its own freelance budget. That’s what we give people a chance to do.”

Below are some other highlights from our conversation – plus a little narration from yours truly. I recognize that I’m going old media on you all by posting part I of this interview above part II, but, hey, isn’t the point of blogging in the first place to defy conventions?