I believe David Cohn’s Spot.us to be quite innovative. The idea of people financially supporting the investigation of news that interests them interests me. I really believe David has stumbled upon something that could reinvent the news industry entirely. Who would have thought that journalism could be more than newspapers force-feeding subscribers what they considered to be news?
It was interesting to hear David’s opinions on the news institutions of today. NPR, National Public Radio is a non-profit, just like Spot.us, and relies on donations to function. Unlike NPR, a donor has a say in where his money is used at Spot.us. Like David said, NPR could use your money for a $100 stapler and you wouldn’t know it. With Spot.us the viewer can have a voice in what is reported. I like that idea, and I think others will too.
I asked David what his plans for the future were because I wanted to know his thoughts on the site’s current and future success. At the same time, I couldn’t help but picture a company, much like Spot.us, that covers national and international news. Wouldn’t that be the neatest thing? Our nation could actually play a part in the news industry. We could demand certain things of our news providers and instead of reading/watching what was deemed “news worthy”, we’d decide. I bet subjects currently ignored by the media, like the genocide in the Congo and the poor state of Haiti, would be exposed because citizens around the world would want to be informed.
David Cohn’s lecture last Thursday got me excited for the future of journalism. The future that, lucky enough, I’m going to be a part of.
I agree 100% David's idea is genius
ReplyDeleteSpot.us seems to be such a pure and true organization that doesn't joke around with where the money is going. I think that's what makes it such an attractive idea. People want to know that their money is going to something beneficial and to what they intended it to go towards. Its one thing to be told you are contributing to news and its another to know that's really where your money is going.
ReplyDeleteIn addition I think its awesome that spot.us grabs stories from comments or ideas people have. This way people are helping to create and spark news rather than just reading about it. Its almost like a citizen way of being a reporter without actually writing the story.
I agree that this is could potentially reinvent journalism. It's inspiring that such a young writer has created such an impressive outlet. I think Spot.us is more appreciated by the community since they write what is requested by their followers.
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