Because …. you are.
From a blog post I wrote yesterday at Spot.Us giving a general run down of where we are two weeks into the “official” launch.
On a P.S. Note: Want to give this Thanksgiving? Why not help support a recently laid off journalist who wants to continue doing what he loves to do.
Alan Mutter’s blog “Reflections of a Newsosaur”
is a must read about the economics of newspapers. It is also one of the
most depressing blogs out there right now. Alan doesn’t hold back any
punches. He only serves cold dishes of reality. At this time, however,
the view is merited and contains important information to head. If
there is anybody who can give you the straight talk about newspaper
economics – its Alan.
NOTE: The video is a bit shaky but clears up after a minute. This is part of my continued work for Jeff Jarvis and CUNY at NewsInnovation.com (where there are other interviews to watch).
I tried to find some positive near the end of the interview (tunnel)
but Alan didn’t want to add any obvious silver lining. From his view
this really is a time to hold on tight, because we are going down a
steep hill for at least 6 months. After the interview he jokingly said
that as a depressing person “this is his time to shine.” That may be
true – but if you need a positive jolt after this video interview I
still go back to my recent blog post “Why We Should Feel Bullish About the Future of Journalism.”
What a week!!!!!
But I don’t want this post to be about me or focus on Spot.Us. Instead it will reflect the feelings I’m left with as I meet people along the road I’ve been traveling.
I’m sitting here at LaGuardia feeling absolutely bullish about the state of journalism. Between the successful launch of Spot.Us and this visit to Columbia I’ve been in touch with entrepreneurial journalists from around the globe. I’m only going to encounter more as I view entries in this year’s News Challenge.
From VidSF and ReelChanges in San Francisco to Global Radio News and FeatureWell at the international level to Leapfrog News Technologies which is thinking way outside the box. Combine that with the New Business Models for News Summit at CUNY where people like Dave Chase, Scott Karp and Rachel Sterne explained their startups, the goals they have, the barriers they face, etc and you can understand why I’m optimistic.
There is a communion in commiserating and dreaming about the days to come when one of us (not all of us) find a way to support meaningful journalism.
I’m pumped, not just for myself, but for the potential that we collectively have. Yes, I know it is becoming cliche – but it is the truth: I have “hope” that change is coming – if we make it happen!
What we need right now is 10,000 journalism startups. Of these 9,000 will fail, 1,000 will find ways to sustain themselves for a brief period of time, 98 will find mediocre success and financial security and two will come out as new media equivalents to the New York Times. (The NY Times is part of this game, I’m not making a big/small media divide here, just using them as a standard).
I don’t know what that organization will look like or who it will be – but that’s what we need and we face some serious challenges along the way.
One of them is what I can only childishly describe as “retarded infighting.” This week Jeff Jarvis was the subject of an attack because he is “not a nice guy.” To me this article was equivalent to accusing Jeff of palling around with terrorists.
Journalists need to stop worrying about who to blame. I’m over it. Truth be told – I was never really into it. It is a waste of time. I’m already young and impatient enough.
What we need is inspiration, hope, a belief that yes “journalism will survive the death of its institutions.“ That a new media startup can serve the same mission that traditional media has done for us in the past. Hope that many of the institutions we love can find a way to steer their large bureaucratic ships to safety before taking on too much debt.
I am writing this post physically exhausted but emotionally charged. I feel like a lion. As if I could talk down the curmudgeonist of curmudgeons. Not because I know the answer(s) – but because if we can’t even talk those people down, then we might as well just crawl into a hole and give up. Fuck that! We are moving forward with or without them.
The answers are out there in every startup (journalism focused or otherwise), community, blog, micro-blogging, micro-financing and CMS on the web. The internet is ours for the taking if we only reach out and grab it with as many hands as possible.
So find one of those 10,000 startups. Support it with your time, expertise, money, content or just an encouraging email to say “I’m cheering for you.” Because if you don’t at least do the last, which requires only the tiniest of efforts, you are no longer part of the solution, you are just in the way…..
‘Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand for the times they are a-changin’.
Bob Dylan
Go ahead. Go get lost on the web for 20 minutes, find a journalism startup you like and email the founder to let them know you support what they are doing. You’d be surprised how much that means to them and how much that can make you feel like part of the process of innovation.
That’s the challenge I leave with you today. Find a startup you like and let them know. That can make all the difference in keeping our hopes alive.
It’s a simple principle: Journalism is a process, not a product – and that process should be participatory.
That sentence describes what I have worked for throughout my
journalism career. I am constantly trying to push that principle
forward. It started as a freelancer for Wired.com, continued through my
work at Columbia Journalism Review and freelancing for Seed Magazine.
Working for Jay Rosen and Jeff Jarvis obviously pushed my career forward and gave me the opportunity to work on amazing citizen journalism projects like Assignment Zero, Beat Blogging, NewsTrust and the Networked Journalism Summit and more.
I’ve been very lucky in my career that I’ve had the opportunity to
always push boundaries. I hope I can continue to do so for many years
to come. Today it’s official – Spot.Us, my most recent and perhaps
largest project, is launching.
I’m looking to tackle a large problem with a small executable solution.
The problem: Revenue.
Journalism is a process not a product, but that process takes time and people who do it professionally need to be compensated.
The Solution: Community Funding.
The process of journalism should be participatory – and perhaps one
way it can be made participatory is if the public has the opportunity
to commission the journalism they want to see.
Traditionally .001% of the public has a freelance budget to hire a
journalist. We call those people “editors.” Spot.Us is an attempt to
increase the percentage of people that can have an editorial influence.
I am incredibly passionate about this project. As I noted when I first
announced it at NewAssignment.net – I would be perfectly content if
this becomes my lifelong contribution to journalism.
Anyone can create a “story tip.” These can be anything – but must
have a local Bay Area focus. We will expand into other regions soon.
Reporters create story “pitches”: These can be inspired by tips or their own original idea.
News Organizations can get exclusive rights to content if they
donate 50% or 100% towards a pitch. Any extra proceeds go back to the
original funders.
If no news organization pays for exclusive rights – we will still
make the content available to republish by anyone for free and publish
it on our site.
That’s Where You Come In!!!
Yes, your time is precious, but if you believe that journalism is a
public good, everyone wins and your donation of time, effort or money
won’t be for nothing – it will mean EVERYTHING!
Citizens: I need your help. You are the only ones that
know what stories are untold. Let us know what you want investigated by
creating a tip. Do the ground level community organizing around pithces
and tips you are passionate about – grow the network. Just 40 people
donating $25 each is enough to fund the average story. In return you
get a new sense of editorial power. Finally you can determine what
investigations get reported on in your community.
Reporters: Try pitching the public. If it works -
you’ll get paid for doing what you love. You can build out your
portfolio, find new story ideas from the tips and through Spot.Us you
can pitch traditional news organizations and the public at the same
time!
News organizations: It’s time for freelancers and
publications to move forward together. Use Spot.Us to stretch your
freelance budget, discover a fresh pool of talent and forge positive
relationships with your readers. If you have freelancers you already
work with – why not let them crowdfund half their wage on Spot.Us?
Journalism hasn’t had it easy lately. But journalism MUST survive
the death of its institutions. I earnestly believe that journalism, as
a process, plays an integral role in our local democracies. I hope
Spot.Us can play a small part in making sure we continue to move
forward in that vein.
(Oh… check out http://spot.us too)
As the liberal U.C. Berkeley graduate now living in San Francisco I was bummed about Proposition 8 being passed, which outlawed gay marriage.
From the video below, I think you’ll see that this is more than just a proposition on the California ballot – this is about civil liberties. Why should I have the right to marry a person of my choosing if a homosexual can’t?
That’s just as absurd as me being able to drink from a certain water fountain or having first dibs to the front of the bus because of my skin color. It just seems wrong to me.
As I see things, it’s only a matter of time before gay marriage becomes legal. That’s how civil rights movements go. Does anybody really believe passing a law making gay marriage illegal will squash the desire of homosexuals to marry. That their fundamental desire to be together will just disappear? Like anybody else they love their partners and if they are lucky enough to find somebody they want to spend the rest of their lives with, they want a legal ceremony to recognize that union. Making it illegal is stalling the inevitable.
Maybe if you aren’t exposed to gays in your daily routine you think the issue of gay marriage will just disappear. That is naive. I just walked out my apartment and saw the following. If you watch the video below then try and leave a comment below that all this is a fad and it will disappear. I’m all ears.
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