Membership and crowd-funding models for news and media businesses. Part of "Trends in Communication & Information Technology," JOUR 4871-003, CU-Boulder

1. News business models 2:
Beyond the ordinary
Trends in Communication & Information Technology
JOUR 4871-003

2. Online membership model gaining ground

3. Online membership model gaining ground
Rare for for-profit news site Member benefits
Free content for anyone: Invites to live chats with reporters
NO PAYWALL! and political figures
Members get special benefits Members-only commenting
$50/year ... OR pay $100, $150 forum
to gift membership (students, Downloading rights to ad-free
seniors, etc.) mini-ebooks called TPM Singles
Funds long-form political Non-members can buy TPM
journalism Singles
Launches Oct. 15, 2012
“If we put those 20,000 words on the front page of TPM, maybe it would get
5,000 views. It’s way too much of an investment of time in revenue terms,
because it has to live or die on the pageview model.” -Josh Marshall

4. Crowd-funding: Platforms
Support crowd-funding: Investment crowd-funding:

5. Crowd-funding: Reporting projects

6. Crowd-funding: Photojournalism projects

7. Crowd-funding: Digital publications

8. Crowd-funding portals: for start-ups
Allows companies to raise small amounts of money from lots of
people through a lightly regulated intermediary
Stock, not rewards Made possible in U.S. by the
Not limited to “accredited JOBS Act: Jumpstart Our
investors” (up to $10K or 10% of Business Startups Act
investor’s income) (signed into law by Obama in
April 2012; implemented 2013)
Handles SEC regulations, legal
Restrictions on investors eased
MUCH cheaper than hiring for crowd-funding
lawyer(s) to do start-up on your
own Can raise up to $1 million
Fixed price: $1,995

9. Crowd-funding portals: for start-ups