1. J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the McCormick Foundation are fund four women-led projects that will rock the world of journalism. The McCormick New Media Women Entrepreneurs awards four grants of $12,000 to the most engaging and interactive women-led project or ideas.

Requirements:

• Projects must launch (at least a live beta) within 10 months.
• Projects must have a plan for continuing after initial funding has ended.
• Projects must have journalistic value.
• Projects may be independent or housed within traditional media.
• Personal blogs or one-time documentaries will not be funded.
• Awardees will receive funding through a subcontract if they are an individual or affiliated with a business; and through a grant if they are affiliated with a non-profit institution.

Deadline to apply: April 12, 2010

2. J-Lab: The institute for Interactive Journalism: News Voices invites participants to launch a participatory news venture in your community. J-Lab selects nine projects in 2010. Each project may receive up to $25,000. News Voices s looking for projects that exhibit: focus, news, online presence, interactivity, sustainability, and digital innovations.

Requirements:

• Only start-up news initiatives can receive funding. Ongoing efforts are not eligible unless they are proposing a new project or product.
• Grantees must launch their project and Web site within 10 months of receiving funding.
• Projects can produce news and information for a geographic area such as a small town, city, county, state or region. Or they can serve a community of interest.

Deadline to apply: March 1, 2010

3. WeMedia Pitch It: The goal is to find and fund the best media start-ups with help from investors, fellow entrepreneurs, corporations, and other business experts. WeMedia grants $25,000 to two ideas (one commercial venture and one social/non-profit venture). Ideas are selected and then voted on by members of WeMedia’s online community. Finalists then pitch their ideas at the WeMedia conference in Miami.

Requirements:

• Clear, and concise concept that is innovative
• Encourage teams of two to three people.
• Demonstrate some thought as to how your idea can become a reality
• Ability to attend the WeMedia conference

Deadline to apply: January 21, 2010 (passed)

4. Journalism Foundation: A non-profit organization that invests in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information now and for the future. With a special focus on investigative reporting, grants can be applied for at any time. Grants are made to non-profit projects, journalism organizations, and start-ups.

5. Knight News Challenge: An annual competition awarding as much as $5 million a year for innovative ideas that: develop platforms, tools and services for community news, conversations and information distribution and visualization.

Requirements:

• Use digital, open-source technology.
• Distribute news in the public interest.
• Test your project in a local community- (limited geographic area) that affects people in a specific local area, which could be as big as a state or province, or as small as a city block.

Deadline: Fall of 2011

6. Y Combinator: A private group that gives seed funding for start-ups. Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding pays for expenses while you’re getting started. Groups can apply for funding and are encouraged to be comprised of:

• Writer- who can write well and rapidly about any topic
• Graphic designer
• Programmer(s) – one or more who are good at statistics, data mining, and making sites scale.

Deadline: none

In the current media landscape, mainstream news organizations like CNN and the New York Times have developed mobile applications for new consumers. However, Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens says for those contemplating a journalism start-up, a mobile presence should first and foremost be established instead of an application that is related to an application.

Stephens said that because most users are “on-the-go” devices like smart phones and tablets will eventually be the main platform of news access.  The audience is going mobile first and it’s important to not only have a mobile version but rather build from mobile first because it’s easier to convert later. Of course a mobile strategy will require effective work by a limited number of staff (in the case of most start-ups) but any mobile strategy will require a web developer who can create mobile applications.

In a mobile-first operation, design may be both a journalism function and a technology function but mostly likely it will combining both skills. Mobile applications can also be a revenue generator for a start-up organization.

Perhaps most importantly, start-up organizations need to ensure that their strategies for mobile news, and information are not only compatible with the latest iPhone, BlackBerry or Droid but also for people with more basic phones that handle only phone calls and text messages and for non-phone devices such as iPods, and the impending iPad.

Subsequently, by establishing a mobile-first strategy start-up organizations have to embrace the role of mobile technology in advertising. Even in the most recent economic downturn, mobile advertising continues to develop and flourish, according to a recent report by Mobile Marketer.

A start-up with a mobile-first strategy enables itself to not only be a self publisher, but also accessible on more than one platform. Experts say much of news consumption will be increasingly mobile based, so why not start your business there?

What makes Spot.Us unique is that the public can commission projects and participate with journalists to do reporting on potentially overlooked topics. Users can suggest stories and donate to projects. Furthermore, news organizations can be involved by investing half the reporting cost which allows them to retain full publishing rights.

The Great Garbage Patch

Reporter Lindsay Hoshaw turned to Spot.us to make the trip a reality

Perhaps the most famous example is the story of the “Great Garbage Patch” in the Pacific Ocean. Reporter Lindsey Hoshaw’s goal was to educate the public about marine debris and the effect of toxic chemicals entering the food chain. After learning about the patch, Hoshaw was determined to write about it.

“I read a short blurb about it in The Week magazine back in 2003,” said Hoshaw. ” I was shocked that I didn’t know about it and that the magazine only devoted three sentences to the subject. “

The patch, more than double the size of Texas, is mostly comprised of plastic and marine debris. Hoshaw received $10,000 from the Spot Us community and joined Captain Charles Moore on his tenth anniversary voyage to collect fish samples to determine the levels of toxins in their tissues. Hoshaw’s piece was featured in a three part series by the New York Times. Hoshaw said organizations like Spot.Us make investigative reporting more of a reality.

“I think Spot.us is important because traditional news organizations just don’t have the budget to pay for investigative reporting,” said Hoshaw.

Garbage Patch, courtesy Lindsey Hoshaw

Start Small

Dave Cohn, who received a $340,000, two-year grant from the Knight Foundation to fund his brainchild, believes this gives more editorial power to the public. In an effort to empower citizens and alleviate the inherent distrust in the media, Spot.Us enterprises a different kind of journalism. Cohn’s own journalistic experiences inspired this venture.

“A big part of it is from my own journalism career,” said Cohn. “Things that I thought could improve overall… basically I’m scratching my own itch.”

Cohn’s advice to entrepreneurial journalists is to start small because he believes start up organizations in journalism will continue to flourish in the changing media landscape. Fostering collaboration and remaining determined will prove to support almost any journalistic undertaking.

“Online: Content is king. I don’t disagree. But collaboration is queen,” said Cohn.

Harlow also encourages journalists to think outside of the box and become entrepreneurial savvy.

“We need as many innovative journalists as possible,”  said Harlow.  “If you dream it up make it happen. I think my project succeeded because I was passionate about the topic. Getting published in the Times was a great treat but I didn’t set out to do this for that byline.”

Business Models & Revenue Stream

While community funded reporting is quite a revolutionary concept, Cohn does not expect it to replace traditional reporting practices.

“If people expect Spot.Us to replace major metro papers, then we are in trouble,” Cohn said. “Spot.Us is a new, growing revenue stream and not meant to be as big of a revenue stream as classifieds were 20 years ago.”

Spot.Us continues to develop and recently redesigned their website. Thus far, more than 35 projects have been funded using donations from over 900 people.

Thus continuing economic pressures on the traditional media and its failure to embrace the internet in time, a gap in the market has been created which allows new business models to flourish.

Freelance multimedia journalist Adam Westbrook argues that there are certain criteria new start-ups should consider and satisfy in order to be successful. Most importantly, is this a new idea with a target audience?

The Washington D.C. based Politico, started by two former Post journalists, had both. They targeted a niche market of those interested in Washington politics. The site was launched in time for President Bush’s inauguration, and many thought it wouldn’t survive once the election was over. But Politico prevailed. As with any star-up business, there were some initial obstacles, however Politico’s risk-taking attitude and willingness to change are critical components for success in 21st-century journalism.

Perhaps the biggest concern, as with any business, is generating revenue. How do you translate your journalism skills into some other means of earning a living? Former Virginian-Pilot photographer Chris Tyree and Stephen Katz launched Weyo, with the goal of branding themselves as story-tellers to the non-profit world. For Tyree, being able to cover stories involving social justice and important issues was the driving factor behind the creation of Weyo.

Westbrook also adds that it is important to capture the power of community engagement in a journalism start-up. By picking a targeted audience, and providing specialized content, audience participation should become a driving factor as well. Establishing a community online that is willing to share content could in turn grow the audience. In addition, encouraging user participation and perhaps even utilizing user-generated content could also encourages audience growth.

In January, the UK’s journalism.co.uk held News: Rewired, an event to discuss the changing face of journalism including start-ups and freelancers. The goal was to discuss where the business was headed and hold workshops and discussions about issues relevant to today’s journalists. The hot topics included multimedia tools for journalists and making money in the industry as an entrepreneur. Below is the keynote speech from George Brock, of the BBC College of Journalism.

Most importantly, in starting any business it’s critical to be doing something you are passionate about. And while maybe not every journalist is going to be a great entrepreneur, it is critical to learn about smart business decisions and the importance of innovation.