New American startup hopes to redefine journalism and reporting of news with an Ethereum-based decentralized platform. Tom McGeveran former Politico reporter left the organisation in January this year to co-found a New York-based, 'Civil' which hopes to create a self-sustaining journalistic system that is free from the media bureaucracy as we know it—fake news, huge advertising spends and external influence.
McGeveran hopes to disrupt the industry which he left behind only recently, and blend modern Ethereum blockchain based smart contracts with newsroom journalism, to effectively cut out the media bureaucracy plaguing the industry.
Blockchain enabled newsroom startups could one day potentially redefine the media industry!
In a statement released today, McGeveran has said and I quote:
"We see in crypto economics the possibility of decentralizing this package, stripping it down to the relationship between readers and journalists/producers, reducing the cost base for these basic services and freeing it from incentives that match the interests of third parties but not citizens or readers or journalists."
Journalism Of The Future
McGeveran has released a whitepaper which organises his idea of blockchain based journalism into three core aspects to create an atmosphere of self-sustaining journalism.
Newsrooms
This will allow crowdfunding to support coverage for specific topics and as the crowd funding increases, higher number of journos are likely to cover the topic. This allows the bureau to scale up proportionally to serve topics of national and international significance.
Stations
This makes it possible for journalists to create a dedicated audience and receive tips similar to Patreon or Kickstarter example. It gives any journo using the platform a way to monetise from their loyal community on the platform.
Fact-checking-as-a-service
Simple errors in journalism can be omitted by allowing citizens and journalists to collaborate together on improving the quality of the news reported. This powers the system by preventing plagiarism and misinformation amongst other things with a crowd-sourced effort, so to speak.
Introducing the CVL Token
Civil will have it's own token as the organisation plans on releasing a new token (CVL) that will allow it to service various functions including but not limited to the influence on newsroom decision making, penalising fake news and inaccurate content. It is likely to allow access to it's content through a CVL token based subscription system.
The Ethereum blockchain based startup hopes to use the smart contract system effectively to build a journalistic environment of high integrity, something the traditional news-media industry is lacking today!
In an official comment Civil founder Matthew Iles said:
"There's costs involved in the centralized business model that we don't think go towards the creation of valuable journalism, and we think there an opportunity to create efficiencies in that business model that would enable journalism to exist where it currently can't."
This new start-up could potentially pave way for a crypto token driven system that could help in exponentially reducing the costs of setting up a traditional news agency.
The startup is hiring experienced industry heavyweights as advisers. Names include former managing editor of the New York Post, Lauren Ramsby, in addition to the editor-in-chief of a popular local news site DNAinfo, John Ness.
Having worked in the media industry, I think this is an exciting new project that could potentially change the way business is done. It would be great to see the media industry grow a spine and I hope Civil can re-imagine a new, "business as usual."
Do you think the world needs a better, decentralised and blockchain based journalism that reports facts as they are?
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Most media organizations must obtain government licenses in order to operate. This creates an inherent conflict of interest. Media outlets cannot always report honestly about government entities who in turn regulate those media outlets. Cutting government licensing out of the picture by way of the blockchain will create more fair reporting, more truth-telling to government power. This is a great idea whose time has come! Thank you for posting.
Hopefully, the disintermediation that inevitably occurs removes those who put the narrative ahead of what really happens and what really needs to be reported!
I have been thinking about "narratives" lately.
Unless it is a descriptive piece of an event, how many facts are in any given news article?
There will be a core of facts, some context that puts some flesh on that skeleton, and a narrative pieces it all together. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It may even be necessary. But what happens when that narrative is considered fact?
That seems to happen in modern news. Any other narrative gets the dreaded "fake news" label.
I guess if I understand correctly, you are saying this disintermediation can help because a journalist is now free to create the narrative he or she sees fit because the funding comes from the users.
Now, that I explain it to myself. It makes more sense.
I think we agree. Journalists will be more free to follow the story wherever it leads. More freedom means that journalists can more easily challenge the stories and facts being presented by other journalists. More competition. All a good thing.
Okay. Understood.
I think my comment was actually trying to flesh out for myself the possibilities of marrying journalism with such a tech structure.
I have been paying more attention to an array of news sources over the last months. This word "narrative"... It is coming up so much that it is starting to lose meaning for me. It is like I can just say, "Oh! THAT narrative..." and easily dismiss vast amounts of material.
I think one thing seems sure. There seems to be all kinds of pressures to rethink many things. Right now, I suspect that a sort of tension between centralized governance and "regional" needs rather in the domain of technology or actual geography like within a nation.
Anyway... I am going on. Thanks!
Sad but true!
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Hope CVL will open a new era of unprejudiced journalism and change the course of our history for better. I am still very much crypto challenged, but have gained enough wisdom to realize that this could be one of the best thing that ever happened to media industry. 😊👍@firepower, another superb post as usual. I think the crypto based journalism could be one of the most significant game changer in media domain. That is one domain fraught with lies, manipulation and what not, but at the same time is very powerful to topple regimes.
Well journalism is big part of every economy. And if there is something available to sought it out and help to grow it even further, then it would really be great to accept that.
As far as Civic is concerned, It's a great token especially because it is based on ethereum based contracts and it'll have huge potential to grow rapidly in the near future. Becasue of it's potential benefits, it has been sold out in the pre-sale and not even reached to it's public ICO sale.
It's kind of a bright decision to introduce blockchain technology in Journalism by the way of Civic Token. This will give a great boost to journalism and will solve the existing problems people are facing in Journalism industry. By creating a self-sustaining journalism, the extra advertising cost can be cut and the resulting output would be profitable.
Anyways thanks for sharing this article though, You're doing a hell of a job, providing very informative articles to your audience. I am learning from you a lot @firepower
Right now there hundred of crypto and every day we see more and more, this is why if someone whould like invest he must take his time, and i think that steem a good oppertunity for now
Yeah, Steem is a very good option as of now. Things will get better in the days to come!
U are welcome, thanks
This comment has received a 0.10 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @hamzaoui.
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If we all were fed the truth via the media, people would freak out. Can you imagine all the scandals and truths that would come out?
People freak out when supermarkets are closed for one day. Imagine if they knew Obama was into male hookers and most US politicians are paedophiles....
Hahha!! well said..
All I can say is that blockchain is changing the future right now. Only time will tell if it was a good idea or not. Things to think about, good post my man!
ofcourse it is a good idea...think about it, you take the dollars, euro, yen...and transform it in something that is out that system and into a new system that has no manipulation but is all about transparency :)) at least that what i think ;)
Of course! You are right!
thank you sir! :)
Yeah!! true that! Thanks!
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Cool!
hey thanks :)
After CNN has gone, to appropriate a popular phrase, "full retard", anything that can help restore a semblance of journalistic ethics is welcome. I just wrote a bit of an expose on #CNNBlackmail and it's hard to believe it's even happening.
However, after reviewing what you posted, I fear this idea may have some issues.
"crowd funding increases, higher number of journos are likely to cover the topic."
Isn't a big part of the problem that news isn't profitable in the West unless it is highly partisan, ideologically-motivated smear/hack-jobs? I fear it will still be difficult to attract enough funding to produce high quality, because there is so much low-quality-but-free material available on the internet, and generally the mass consumer goes for McDonald's first and foremost.
"This makes it possible for journalists to create a dedicated audience and receive tips similar to Patreon or Kickstarter example."
That kinda just sounds like Steemit, no? Plus, as you note, there are two competing platforms that already make this possible, so it's not exactly a new feature.
I hope it works out, we need some alternative to the mainstream media brainwashing our parents every day.
...It's funny, once upon a time it was the kids we were worried about being brainwashed, but now they only believe Youtube and Pewdiepie.
I hope it works. Journalism really needs a new way to support itself since the advertising market (google ads) and classified ads (craigslist) has changed so much and so quickly.
True! Hoping the same!
Yes, there are good outlets and reporters out there, but we definitely need better journalism overall.
This is an interesting idea and hopefully something like this will be successful in one way or another!
I really hope the same!
🤙
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Yeah! sure
Again a useful article!
Thanks!
Follow me and I follow back
Why?
How about a...
NO!
This can be good but on the other hand this form of journalism can get infected as well...
For sure it's good that there are people out there willing to do this!
Good point. Steemit incentivizes users to be civil, so perhaps the system can be set up in a way that promotes journalistic integrity.
Yeah, it should be!
Let's hope for only good things! :)
Mmmh... Can be a good thing.
Actually, money is more important true information
meep
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Well.. maybe!
Very Nice post Informotive :) Thanks @firepower Upvoted Have a nice day
Thanks man!
great post Buddy. Definitely it really can be a very effective thing to opt for. The world has since long been left out of the TRUE FACTS in the news which focus on making MORE MONEY than sending the RIGHT MESSAGES. This can be a really useful thing to do.
Yeah, it surely can! Thanks!
This could be a great thing... but do people actually want to read articles that are fact-checked? Maybe I'm just a cynical bastard, but I'm sure a lot of people read/listen to news that are in tune with what they already believe/think and they don't care if it's actually true or not.
So changing the way "they" believe/think would be a remedy don't you "believe/think"? :))
Probably!
:)))) :{}
Yes, it could be!
nice
Thanks!
sooner or later, block chain will capture (for secured communication / article / records )
We hope to reform the Eelectronic press because it is receptive to the next days, and as it is, it must be upgraded
Yes! It should be in a better way!
Journalists around the globe are under heavy fire at the moment.
Firing up everywhere!
This is a great way to use ethereum based smart contracts. It will ensure journalists get paid for their content and faster publishing. Very good idea. Thank you for sharing
Thank you!
might be a good thing....
Yeah!
great idea ! i will inspirit with hime.. thanks for this spote :)
Go for it!
niice post man !! and good luck for other posts.
continue... you have a good idea and subjects @firepower
Thank you! Glad you liked them!
Looks like the 300 years of peace an prosperity written in the Bible are being setting up!! :)))
I hope so! :)
hope is the last thing to die...thank you sir for all your voting i really appreciate it!! :))
hoping there would be a ico soon...Looks very interesting..
Yah! Thanks!
It's crazy how all these coins can just come in, make claims, gain value
True that! Crypto currency affairs are really crazy!
that is an amazing project thanks a lot for sharing and keep on posting ;)
Thank you :)
ive been getting news from youtube forever because I don't believe the mainstream. with the recent censorship that's been going on over there I think its a good idea to put media on blockchain...im hoping more new media companies will start doing this.
Yeah, it should, I really hope!
Is there anything that can't be fixed by blockchain?
government
Haha! Hopefully this changes too!
Only time can tell what happens!
This sounds like a proof-of-truth coin to me!! Great idea.
I think it's not only news-consumers who are craving true news, but also journalists who would love to be able to do their jobs properly again.
Yeah! I really hope so!
Something similar already exists: youtube journalists. They are all really engaged with their watchers and "fake news" and hypocrisy gets called out all the time by both watchers and "journalists" (media creators on youtube). And anyone who gets caught with bad practices lose subscribers = views = popularity = money.
True. That's sad!
A truely REVOLUTIONARY vision!
Indeed!
most people cannot handle this...it could lead to misuse and abuse but it is good to know that there are people who are willing to do this
Probably!
You said it!
Innovation leads to industrial revolution and that is what Blockchain technology has done
You said it right!
Thanks
That's a big thumbs up! Thank you
Will they be allowed by the governments to do it?
I think the government can't control media then most probably they will kill the cryptocurrencies
Well, you never know!
CNN will be in trouble..... thanks for posting
Probably!
Great info. It's about time we read,see,or hear real news as it is happening.
True that!
Thank you for sharing great knowledge about the account recovery, we never know.. we might needed this in the future. I follow you now.
Thank you!
How is this any different than Steem?
Oh, man. This is going to be good ...
Yah! Hoping for the good!
Great Post
Thank you for sharing
Thanks!
Initiatives like these justify the need for cryptocurrencies and decentralisation. Hopefully it all stays deregulated.
I really hope the same!
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Okay
Subscribed.
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Nice!
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Good for you!