And other thoughts on funding the Media Revolution...
By Brad Friedman on 6/29/2005, 11:58am PT  

Not sure where they picked it up, but yesterday Editor & Publisher covered the planned Guest Blogging duties here of Tribune Media Services' Bob Koehler for the upcoming BRAD BLOGathon. Their quickie item on it is right here.

This one is difficult for me to write about as I'm the main beneficiary of the effort and yet have not been in on much of the actual planning of the event (see this latest guest blog from Winter Patriot with more details including other notable Guest Bloggers scheduled for the event), but I'm glad that E&P picked up on the matter since I think the effort is actually newsworthy. Not so much the actual coverage of a fundraiser for this blog, but the general idea of readers organizing to raise funds for the Independent/Alternate Voices they appreciate as a counter to the Corporate Media.

I know that Dr. Steve Viele (one of the main ringleaders in the effort) has mentioned to me that he hopes this will serve as a model for other blogs out there, and I hope that he's right. Advertising and donations throughout the course of normal daily blogging here only go so far to cover the costs for the time and effort this gig now takes. Very few, if any, of us bloggers have major corporate sponsorship, and that's probably a good thing. But then how do we continue to do the important work that needs to be done without regular sponsorship or subscriptions if we can't pay our bills?

Don't know if Dr. Steve's model will work or not (the Blogathon is scheduled for the weekend of July 9, 10 & 11) but I think it's worth watching, and I hope that other blogs and blog readers keep an eye on it if only to see if they may be able to organize similar efforts for those other bloggers out there who find themselves in the same position/predicament that I do.

It seems there are a lot of folks --- political players with lots of access to money --- who complain about the bias and laziness of the Corporate Media. Many of them are more than willing to toss tons of bucks to Political Candidates every two or four years. But when it comes to opening their pocketbooks to support the work of the folks who are actually in the trenches every day trying to counter the Corporate Media Bias on a daily basis, those big money players are nowhere to be found.

If those monied folks who toss $50/month or more to their Cable Company without batting an eye realized how important even half of that amount would on a monthly basis to folks like the bloggers on the ground, there would be a lot more of us, and we'd have the resources to do alot more of this work...Anyway, sorry to natter on...I just hope the effort makes a difference. For me, yes, but even more so for so many others out there like me who are trying, against all odds, to do similar work. To that end, don't forget our friends at RAW STORY continue their ongoing fundraiser through tomorrow, and yes, our own PayPay Link is always open.

                 

Article Categories: (Uncategorized)