An industry in decline is often well positioned for innovation. With the well-publicized crumbling of traditional media, journalists worldwide have an opportunity to use the web to redefine the practice of creating news. Here are a few recent examples of the bubbling entrepreneurial community in journalism.

Spot.us is a new project from journalist David Cohn - a veteran of numerous NewAssignment experiments. Aimed to fuel local investigative reporting, Spot.us is an example of crowdfunding. Similar to crowdsourcing, this methodology allows a large group of donors to collectively raise money through micro-payments. Independent journalists propose stories to Spot.us and rely upon a community to fund the investigation. The platform offers both an alternative revenue model for journalism and also pre-validation for topics.

Another new tool for the journalism industry is Help A Reporter from entrepreneur Peter Shankman. As a self-proclaimed connector, Shankman wanted to streamline the introduction process between journalists and reliable sources. Questions submitted from journalists are collected into several daily email blasts to a growing list of Shankman qualified experts. Good will can go a long way.

Link to [Spot.us]

Link to [Help A Reporter]