Spot.us

Stories began as tips from the public giving an issue they would like to see covered, or pitches from a journalist to create a story, including the amount of money needed. Visitors to the website could then donate to fund the pitch. Smaller stories cost a couple hundred dollars to fund, while the largest cost about one thousand dollars. Completed stories were available under a Creative Commons license. They could be viewed for free on the website and used free of charge by news organizations. News organizations that wished to gain temporary copyright of articles might do so by contributing over 50 percent of the funding. ==Conflicts of interest for journalists==

Conflicts of interest around Spot.us arose due to the fact that readers were funding journalists' work. Because of this, journalists may have felt that they had to cater to their donors or they felt a "strong connection with the people that donated to them." This allows for an altered relationship between journalists and readers. It may also affect the way that the news is covered and compromise journalistic objectivity. Like other crowdfunding platforms, using Spot.us meant that journalists were directly involved with marketing and finances. This means that journalistic independence may also be compromised. == See also ==