YouComm News

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{{use Australian English|date=September 2021}}

YouCommNews was an Australian non-profit organisation which brought journalists, publishers and the public together for crowdsourcing of ideas and resources (including funding) for community-driven journalism. It was founded in 2010 by freelance journalist Melissa Sweet and Margaret Simons of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation (PIJF), then based at the Institute for Social Research of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/commission-a-journalist/story-e6frg996-1225926427821 |title=Commission a journalist |access-date=18 October 2010 |author=Sally Jackson |date=Sep 20, 2010 |publisher=The Australian}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/australian-answer-to-spot-us-039--039-community-powered-039-journalism-gathers-momentum/s2/a538876/|title=Australian answer to Spot.Us' 'community-powered' journalism gathers momentum | Media news|date=27 May 2010}} Its model was based on the United States' organisation Spot.us.{{cite web | title=Foundation for Public Interest Journalism | website=Pro Bono Australia | date=29 January 2016 | url=https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2009/06/foundation-for-public-interest-journalism/ | access-date=5 September 2021}}

Members of the public could participate either by suggesting ideas for stories they would like a journalist to cover, or by donating money towards a story pitch. Journalists then either suggested a story idea or applied to fulfill an existing idea.{{cite web |url=http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2010/09/new-journalism-looks-new-fundraising |title=New Journalism Looks to New Fundraising |access-date=18 October 2010 |author=Tara Peck |date=Sep 23, 2010 |publisher=ProBono News}}

Publishers would jointly fund stories or purchase completed stories, with funds reimbursed to donors.

The project launched with a story investigating the suspension of a childhood immunisation program following many instances of childhood febrile convulsions in Australia.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2010/09/02/youcommnews-launches-with-an-investigation-into-influenza-policy/ |title=YouCommNews launches with an investigation into influenza policy |access-date=18 October 2010 |author=Heath Kelly |date=Sep 2, 2010 |publisher=Crikey}}