There's no disputing the power of crowdfunding. It's birthed some pretty nifty things that probably otherwise wouldn't have seen the light of day, and that the team here at n/n just can't do without, like card games featuring exploding cats (www.explodingkittens.com) and old-school video games (http://eternity.obsidian.net/).
But can crowdfunding save and sustain journalism? Probably not, argues one of our managing directors in the current issue of the Correspondent, the official magazine of Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club (http://fcchk.org/hkfp-leads-crowded-field-online-news; under 'Crowds to the Rescue?').
This might seem overly cynical, especially just after a couple of much-needed independent media sources have successfully launched through crowdfunding in our hometown of Hong Kong. But it's less the ability to get a publication off the ground than keeping it going for the long-term that we're worried about. At the same time, there's good reason to believe journalism shouldn't be left completely to the mercy of market forces, and that crowdfunding could serve as one pillar of a revenue strategy that also includes subscriptions, advertising and content partnerships. Donating to get a publication started is great, but what a media outlet really needs is a dedicated audience -- and one that's willing to shell out consistently in some form for what it consumes. Thankfully in the current environment there are many ways to be a long-term supporter -- from regularly paying a few cents to read individual articles, to sharing good content across your personal or professional networks.
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