Slow journalism startup Tortoise produced one of the highlights of 2018 when it managed to successfully crowdfund its Kickstarter campaign by offering news audiences' a breather from the constant news cycle.
Promising a different sort of newsroom, the £500,000 raised by readers far surpassed the £75,000 crowdfunding target. It has since put the wheels in motion for Tortoise to be producing early-access content for its founding members, and get a public launch set for April 2019.
But one of the key components of its editorial and financial model are 'Think In' sessions, that give members a seat in the newsroom. It is an opportunity for the public to meet with Tortoise's editors and journalists, to engage with one another on crucial, global issues, and have a say in how they should be covered.
In this week's podcast, co-founder Katie Vanneck-Smith talks to Journalism.co.uk about the importance of listening to your audience base and how their Think In editorial discussions are shaping Tortoise's journalism.
From micropayments to crowdfunding, we will be discussing new ways to finance journalism in the digital age at Newsrewired on 6 March at Reuters, London.
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