SiliconBeat

In the search for new business models for journalism, one of the most intriguing experiments underway is Spot.Us. Founded by David Cohn, Spot.Us creates a marketplace between reporters and communities to try a new paradigm for funding journalism. Cohn was among the most recent recipients of the Knight Foundation News Challenge Grants last spring for this project.

After several months in quiet beta, Spot.Us officially launched today.

The concept works like this: A reporter posts an idea for a story along with an amount they need to produce the work. Members of the community can then donate money through the Web site to fund that work. The checks aren’t cashed, so to speak, unless enough money is raised. Spot.Us has already funded a few stories while the site was still being built. The stories are then available for any publication to run for free. A news organization can have exclusive rights if it contributes enough money to fund the story. As Cohn explains, this can be a great way to stretch the freelance budget.

At the moment, Spot.Us focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area. So if you have an interest in supporting quality journalism, then think about making a donation. The concept really works around micro-finance, so the donation doesn’t need to be huge. Lots of little donations can really leverage the network effect and make things happen.

Will this work? I hope so. It’s off to a strong start. Is it the answer to all of journalism’s problems? No, and Cohn doesn’t claim it is. But it represents the right kind of thinking for this era: Something that harnesses the network power available through the Internet while also thinking progressively about what the underlying business model looks like.

That’s the kind of innovation worth your support.