Answer: I've been reviewing about 9,000 pages of documents obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act and the state of Florida's Sunshine Law. They pertain to a Gannett affiliate.
This project has cost me $100 in out-of-pocket expenses -- reason to try an experiment around "crowdfunding," one of several new online publishing business models. I am seeking sponsors willing to defray the cost of this post. Publication is imminent.Any donation will help. Those who contribute $25 or more through PayPal will have the option of listing their name as a sponsor at the end of the post. (Your name will only be listed on written request, in the PayPal message field; please include a phone number where I can reach you for verification.) There is no deadline; this offer is good before and after publication.
(Updated at 8:20 p.m. ET.) Contributions so far: $115.
I'm trying to earn $6,000 quarterly through sponsorships and advertising sales. Please use the "Donate" tool in the green sidebar, upper right. Or mail cash/checks payable to: Jim Hopkins, 584 Castro St. #823, San Francisco, Calif., 94114-2594.
Done, donation made. I hope I was among the firsts. I am no longer in the newspaper industry and have no need for a newspaper. There has to be a market for a bird dog like you. Thank you Jim!
ReplyDeleteWhoda thunk that printouts of all the hot SouthFlorida/Orlando Metromix pix would have run to 9,000 pages?
ReplyDeleteSo, your new project has to do with Florida Today newspaper?
ReplyDelete8:13 AM - Damn! You're on to us!
ReplyDeleteHey Jim, why don't you ask the Craig & Denise Dubow fund to sponsor you? :)
ReplyDeleteSo Jim, why are you reporting this the old-fashioned way, doing your work in secret then dumping the results on us with a blog post at the end, as if from the gods on high? Why don't you do your reporting in real-time, on your blog, so everyone can watch, learn and participate? I believe the jargon for this is crowdsourcing.
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, how about those GCI executives making donations from their hefty 2009 bonuses?
ReplyDelete1:59 pm: Good questions; several answers!
ReplyDeleteBlogging is a daily opportunity to try different story -telling formats, including traditional ones.
It is absolutely true that investigating and publishing in real time -- in effect, live-blogging an investigation -- is educational. But sometimes the impact is lost as the findings get dribbled out.
There's still something to say for a good, old-fashioned first-day pop -- or flop.
@ 1:59 p.m. -- There is also something to be said for not dribbling out dead ends, unsupported accusations, tantalizing leads and potentially damaging implications that, in the end, are proven to be false or at least unsupported by evidence.
ReplyDeleteThese internets have a way of turning specious scraps of info into slurs and innuendo of fearsome durability. There is a reason that "check it out" is the ultimate mission statement of every real journalist.
Good work, Jim. Keep it up!
Jim,
ReplyDeleteHow is the project coming along? Do you have an expected run date?
Thanks.
11:46 am: My project is now being edited. Publication continues to be imminent.
ReplyDelete