Benji Rogers was co-founder of crowdfunding website PledgeMusic, although he left (to set up startup Dot Blockchain) before things went downhill with the company’s finances. After returning in an advisory capacity earlier this year to try to help PledgeMusic out of its hole, Rogers has now unveiled his own new venture – NewsHero – and is seeking £20k of funding through Kickstarter to get it up and running.
The pitch: “A platform that rebalances the news to better reflect the world we live in with direct, sustainable support for journalists and sources… a platform dedicated to the idea that there are more helpers and heroes in the world than there are those who would do harm”. The idea being that each article on the site will have “three reputable sources” and will focus on the “heroes” of the story. Said articles will be delivered through a website, app and newsletter, with readers able to “thank the writer with direct contributions through the site, with multiple options”. Art, entertainment and celebrity news will sit alongside politics, health and financial stories.
Here’s Rogers’ explanation of what he’s trying to do with NewsHero. It’s possible there’ll be some blowback from artists still angry at PledgeMusic, but Rogers isn’t in the firing line for the period when PledgeMusic’s business is under scrutiny.
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