News2Share is an independent digital news startup founded by students out of American University in Washington, D.C. From the start, our goal was simple: take the reigns of journalism out of the newsroom bubble and back onto the streets in the form of interactive, engaging, and audience-inclusive backpack reporting to bring a first-person perspective on activism and conflict to the masses. In the five years since, we’ve made that dream into a reality through reporting missions in Washington D.C., Ferguson, Palestine, Baltimore, Ukraine, and more. We’re branching out into live digital broadcasts and documentary work, too. Our goal is to give our audience an unfiltered, unique view into the world’s emerging movements and conflicts using the latest breakthroughs in digital technology. And we’re asking for your help to let us take you there.
So...why us?
We know what you’re probably thinking. What makes us so different than everyone else?
Our answer: Perseverance, engagement, and independence. Even though we started out with a small team and tight budget, we’ve still managed to travel the country day and night to cover emerging political and social movements. Check out our work from Inauguration Day, Aleppo protests, and the Million Mask March, and Charlottesville for a sense of what we’re capable of.
Everywhere we go, we’ve always made it a point to involve our audience with the work that we do. We love interacting with our viewers - that sort of reporter-consumer interaction is a vital part of news coverage we feel the mainstream media is seriously lacking in. Have a question about where we are or what we’re covering? Got a suggestion for coverage? We’ll listen to you. That’s why live streams and first-person perspectives have always been the cornerstone of our reporting missions.
Our videos, photos, and articles will always be free to view, like we think all news ultimately should be. Your support will help us keep our content free and accessible to everyone.
What we’ll do with your contribution:
- Our current major long-term project is Transhuman, a feature-length documentary about a movement to augment the human experience with biotechnology. We’re off to a great start already - check out our Facebook page here - and we’re looking for more support to keep up the momentum by covering editing costs, airfares for on-location filming, and equipment costs.
- We’re always seeking to incorporate new digital technology into our reporting. Your contribution will help us upgrade our camera and computer equipment so we can bring interactive storytelling to your screen. We’re talking immersive 360 live streams, broadcast-quality cameras, and more.
- Transportation costs. Seriously, this is a big one. We’re Washington, DC-based, but we’re not going to let that stop us from chasing the story. With your help, we’ll be able to travel the country for what we see as the best and most credible reporting there is: on-location, first-person journalism. Who knows - with enough support, we might even go global.