Crowdfunding.

spot.us is a website for citizen funded community journalism. It's a place where anyone can pitch a story idea to the public. The public then pledges for any story they want, and if enough pledges are given then the story can be published. I find this idea interesting because it's refreshing to see in a society where you rarely experience this kind of contribution in everyday life. Looking through the site, the stories that are pitched are not your everyday newspaper story. These are stories people live everyday and want to see, and pay money to see published.

So, is crowdfunding democratic media? In my opinion, yes it is. People are paying the amount of money they want to pay to support something they want to see. All the money is used to support the writer and their research to be able to publish the story. If enough people pledge, and enough money is raised then the story will be published. It's not about who pays more money, it's all about coming together as a community and helping other writers and other citizens get their stories across. 

I think spot.us as the ability to become something great. With everything, every little project there always has to be some funding, involved to make it happen, and there are always people behind that to make it happen. This website is a place for any aspiring writer to get their start, and it's good to see a community help these writers get their start. It's a great idea, and with more help from the community and more attention it could take off.