InvestigateWest is pleased to successfully launch another new venture this week with ten media partners and Spot.us, the grassroots journalism organization that brings community dollars to journalism that matters.
Thanks so much to our media partners and to members of the community who helped make this important story possible.
Please read our story, send us feedback, and support more community funded journalism by becoming supporting members of InvestigateWest.
InvestigateWest had a good idea for a story that needed doing - taking a hard look at the dollars that a popular form of vacationing pumps into local economies. The irony is that this tourist economy depends on locations like Washington, Alaska and British Columbia, with their pristine waters and lush, green environmentally appealing forests and mountains t0 draw tourists. But if those tourism dollars do damage to those very same environments, is it worth supporting? Those are the questions that InvestigateWest and reporter Lee van der Voo set out to answer.
The story and the answers we found can be found today on our site, on Spot.us, and in the hands of our many media partners that are publishing the story with us, including Seattlepi.com, The Spokesman-Review, The Herald in Everett, The Walla Walla Union Bulletin, The Tyee, Crosscut, MyEdmondsNews, Seattle PostGlobe and others.
We're proud to be associated with such great media partners, and it was super to have so much amazing community support through Spot.us. The pledges ranged from $5 to $100, and most were $20 or less. We had a great time time doing this story, and we think this is a great model. Please continue to support Spot.us and its important grassroot journalism.
Posted by InvestigateWest on 08/17/10
