This week on Conversations That Matter, Stu sat down with Knowledge Network President Rudy Buttignol to talk shop about the role of public television in Democracy and how their viewer-funded revenue model allows Knowledge the room to explore a wide range of topics and viewpoints without the pressure of advertisers.
Public television has a long track record, one that is plagued by money issues just as every business or organization that has rent, salaries, and other bills to pay. It also has been crowdfunding itself for decades—a buzzword of today that really means one thing, asking people like you and me to give money to support the creation of content.
As corporate news organization cutbacks continue at a striking pace, more and more journalists are turning toward these independent models of funding to create their own newsrooms.
Here are ways to expand your knowledge about independent journalism as well as the struggles that the media faces in order to remain financially solvent and socially relevant:
- The Pew Research Center for Journalism and Media released a revealing study in 2016 that details the rise of crowdfunding in journalism.
- The Ethical Journalism Network is devoting its efforts to educating journalists about funding mechanisms.
- The Canadian Media fund gives an insightful look into crowdfunding success around the world.
- Check out crowdfunded publications that are paving the way for a new era of journalism.
- This UNESCO piece on the success of Lithuania’s LibertyTV is revealing.
- The Conversation wrote a great piece on whether or not crowdfunding will save journalism.
And, hey, don’t forget about Conversations That Matter. We too are viewer supported. You can become a patron today at https://www.patreon.com/conversationsthatmatter
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