BS: Reader funded investigative journalism

Subject: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 11:24 AM

This is such a cool idea. The mainstream media has certainly let its consumers down, and part of the reason for that is because they get most of their money from advertisers. Here's an organization that allows consumers to directly fund the investigations of their journalists. It appears to only be functioning in the San Fransisco Bay area at this time, but I think that if it were the standard model for journalism, we would see an awful lot more of the truth being uncovered than we are now or ever have in the past...

http://www.spot.us/news_items

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: Wesley S
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 11:57 AM

I wasn't able to open your link. But I'm concerned that paying for a news story would slant the results. If a reporter is told he's being paid to find dirt on Company X - or an individual - then they are bound to dig up something. Again I'd like to read the story before I comment further.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: Riginslinger
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:06 PM

It opened for me. It sounds like it could be a good idea, but like Wesley says, if it just winds up in a shouting match between parties, it's no better than what we have now.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:12 PM

So that's who shouldv'e been paying for my op/ed pieces!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:33 PM

I don't think it would result in shouting matches (that's pretty much what we have now). A look at around the site I linked to shows that a journalist gets an idea for a subject to investigate (like this one, for instance), and they pitch their idea to the readers. If the readers like the idea, they contribute money to the investigation. As things are now, the things that get covered are slanted by the corporatocracy according to what they want us to read.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 12:35 PM

Also, if a reporter gets the idea to find dirt on company X, they won't be able to find any dirt if there isn't any dirt to be found. If there is, maybe people ought to know about it.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: Wesley S
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 01:08 PM

"they won't be able to find any dirt if there isn't any dirt to be found"

We all know that facts can be presented in any number of ways to show different results.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 01:26 PM

That site is regarded as a possible danger by my spyware-virus protection.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 02:40 PM

Nevertheless, things that the general public would like to see investigated rarely are, because powerful vested interests prevent it from happening. So reader funded investigative journalism would put that power into the hands of the readers, where it belongs.

Subject: RE: BS: Reader funded investigative journalism
From: CarolC
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 02:42 PM

What spyware-virus protection is that?