Funding for journalism is growing

Although still considered a drop in the bucket compared to the multi-million dollar businesses of print advertising, crowdfunding is increasingly being sought by journalists to finance a wide range of projects, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

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In the first nine months of 2015, crowdfunded journalism projects on Kickstarter raised more than $1.74 million, a huge increase from $49,256 in 2009, when Kickstarter was founded, according to a Pew report.

Illustration photo. (Source: poynter.org)

Also during the period from 2009 to now, the number of projects using crowd funding has increased from 17 to 173 projects. The number of people donating to journalism projects on Kickstarter, which started with only 792 people in 2009, has now reached 25,651 people.

All of these numbers have led to the creation of a new revenue stream for news organizations looking for new sources of income as old sources of income decline.

Moreover, this trend also represents a unique, small but growing form of journalism that is popular and supported by its readers. The Pew report states:

“[Crowdfunding] has supported voices and efforts that might otherwise go unnoticed or underfunded, and is another way for the community to participate in creating, funding, and distributing news, as well as creating another revenue stream option that the news industry is struggling to create.”

The report also notes that its analysis of crowdfunding growth is somewhat limited, as Pew only sources data from Kickstarter. As the concept of crowdfunding has become increasingly popular in recent years, startups like Spot.us, Beacon Reader, and Contributoria have also connected readers with journalists seeking funding for their journalism projects.

Because figures from these companies are not included, the Pew report is not a definitive account of crowdfunding for journalism, but rather a first step in the journey for businesses.

The report also found that individual Kickstarter projects receive more crowdfunding than institutional projects. News organizations account for just under a quarter of all journalism projects on Kickstarter, while individual projects account for 43%. Other private organizations account for 7%.

The report also provides a clear breakdown of which projects are more likely to receive funding on Kickstarter. Accordingly, the projects that are funded are all long-term projects “that would not have been possible without the help of independent donors.” Magazine publishing projects are the most supported, followed by website creation, book writing and radio channel creation./.

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