Crowdfunded Journalism and Social Entrepreneurship: An Examination of Narrative and Entrepreneur Legitimacy

Abstract

Crowdfunding is widely used for journalism, whose primary purpose is to provide information that citizens need. Therefore, this study frames journalism crowdfunding as social entrepreneurship and investigates how the characteristics of narratives and entrepreneurs influence citizens’ financial support for journalism crowdfunding. An analysis of journalism crowdfunding campaigns reveals how social change aims, public interest, past and future narratives, entrepreneurs’ gender and their affiliation with mainstream news outlets predict funding for journalism crowdfunding projects. The results provide both theoretical and practical implications for the role of narratives in gaining financial resources and the potential of crowdfunded journalism as a tool for social change.