YouComm News
YouCommNews was an Australian non-profit organisation which brought journalists, publishers and the public together for crowdsourcing of ideas and resources (including funding) for community-driven journalism. It was founded in 2010 by freelance journalist Melissa Sweet and Margaret Simons of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation (PIJ Foundation) based at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.[1][2] Its model was based on the United States' organisation Spot.us.
Members of the public could participate either by suggesting ideas for stories they would like a journalist to cover, or by donating money towards a story pitch. Journalists then either suggested a story idea or applied to fulfill an existing idea.[3]
Publishers would jointly fund stories or purchase completed stories, with funds reimbursed to donors.
The project launched with a story investigating the suspension of a childhood immunisation program following many instances of childhood febrile convulsions in Australia.[4]
References
- Sally Jackson (20 September 2010). "Commission a journalist". The Australian. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/australian-answer-to-spot-us-039--039-community-powered-039-journalism-gathers-momentum/s2/a538876/
- Tara Peck (23 September 2010). "New Journalism Looks to New Fundraising". ProBono News. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- Heath Kelly (2 September 2010). "YouCommNews launches with an investigation into influenza policy". Crikey. Retrieved 18 October 2010.