Posts by Idiot Savant
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Do you have insider knowledge of how much money the contributors actually make? Are we talking need for a second job, breadline, fair pay?...
An interesting question. They basically charge the cost of a monthly magazine for a subscription, and have ~10,000 subscribers. But their costs are a lot lower - delivery by web and email, no printing or chuckaways. Still, its not clear if they actually turn a profit.
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The writers would have to donate their time until the advertising and print sales become profitable
You mean like most of us do already?
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Keith: Yup, sounds like OpenSalon to me. (Details on their payment system here). But I'm not sure yet how successful it is at getting cash for authors.
Such a system also seems perfectly compatible with traditional web advertising systems. But I think the big problem is - as Danyl notes - that people are reluctant to pay for online content (though micropayments - "click here to give me a buck!" - may be a way aroudn this; the dificulty is in making them quick and easy).
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It's not as bad as all that. When a good story breaks, other outlets pick it up. If our putative trust-funded outlet finds something good, others may pick up the story and run with it. Mission accomplished.
Point. Though the original journalist may not see any benefit from that (though society would).
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Oh, and I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the Bruce Jesson trust yet. It has a small "critical writing fund" which makes small awards, though more aimed at supporting books than everyday journalism.
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As to who would fund this, Russell omitted my subsequent comment, which I will now repeat: if you would kindly die and leave your vast estate to said trust, that would speed things up. Thank you.
Great. So all we need is for some kind, wealthy individual to whack themselves in the near future for the benefit of NZ journalism.
Keith: you need a micropayments system. I understand Salon just introduced one on its new blogging site, but it can only be used by Merkins.
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Jose: I was just reading through my notes from that. As you note, its easier said than done - but Simon Collins had a more modern solution of doing it via the web, with bloggers and journalists effectively syndicating their best public-interest material in the format of a national news site.
Of course, a web site is pull rather than push, and if the aim is to get better journalism to the public, then its not much of a solution. But it is perhaps a project for a dedicated loon to think about.
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I'd kick in. $100 a year is substantially less than the cost of subscribing to my local Fairfax-clone. Start a pledgebank pledge already!
I think the biggest problem would be getting the material published; newspapers and magazines may be reluctant to carry it. Though if it was put to them simply as a freelance article, then they might be happy enough. Any funding would have to be declared, but they do this already for e.g. travel stories where the reporter was funded by an outside party.
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Let me guess: You agree with Family Fist that the judge's ruling was the Bill of Rights trampling all over societal decency? And in your utopia there would be no guaranteed freedom of expression, only that which was judged to be "morally acceptable" by the Office of Public Decency or some-such?
Please. Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.
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Oh, diddums. :)
I think it was more an amused observation than a complaint.