spot.us: spot on?

The L.A.Times caught up yesterday with spot.us, which features a new business model to support investigative reporting. We first mentioned it here, back in December, in a post entitled "more looks forward" (click on "Jeremy").

From the LATimes piece:

"It's hard not to root for [founder David] Cohn, 26, who had the chutzpah to try something new, the tenacity to get it off the ground and the maturity to know that it might not work.

"God and Google know the old, monopolistic print advertising model will never make a full-scale comeback. So more power to any endeavor trying to push serious journalism into a new era.

"Yes, there is a "but." To wit: The site's platform outperforms its product. Spot.us stories simply need to be better. The four I checked out -- three written and one a radio report -- did not particularly engage, incite or entertain."

While the journalism itself may not yet be up to speed, the plan itself may be, if not a winner, at least a sign that creative minds are out there taking chances on new models to save journalism itself -- rather than propping up the old way of doing business. Beyond the initial seed money -- a $340,000 innovation grant from the Knight Foundation -- Cohn funds his individual stories via micro-donations from interested readers on his site. Check it out. bk