Reflecting on the discussions on Proft as a motive for Mainstream Media at We Media.
Why is profit such a dirty word? Why does the notion of monetary profit make people cringe? Alternate Media (anything that is not Mainstream Media) can have a monetary profit motive as well, and still do great amount of work for democracy. In fact, any project that cannot sustain itself is eating on other resources. This sustenance could come from providing value to another project or organisation. (I know Global Voices is working on a similar model.) While Global Voices is not-for-profit, it certainly aims to be self-sustaining.
The notion of goodness-of-heart cannot sustain a project. Adding value does. However, the more democratic your motive is – the more likely you generate a certain amount of goodwill that in turn broadbases your value addition process. (Of course, Democracy tops the list of most-abused-words.)
Posted on May 3rd, 2006 by Neha Viswanathan
Filed under: Global Voices, London, Media, Online Projects
