Why Not Pay Sources for Stories?

Tel Aviv-based media outlet BLOCKTV announced details of a tokenized rewards system to incentivize sources to share exclusive news tips.

BLTV is an ERC20 token that will be offered to publishers, journalists, advertisers, sources and viewers.

With over 15 years of experience in journalism, Elad suggests that providing sources with digital money in exchange for news tips will help ensure consistently high-quality and original reporting within the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces.

"The token system we are building allows sources to submit a story, which we would then run by our professional editorial team to make sure that the information is true and interesting," said Ron Friedman, BLOCKTV's editor-in-chief.

Upon publication of their story, sources will receive a cut of the revenue generated by that story's views and engagement.

"For the first time ever, sources will be compensated for sharing the news with a media outlet. We also plan to add a tipping mechanism and bonus program for stories considered to be extremely important," Friedman said.

According to Joshua Benton, director of Harvard University's Nieman Journalism Lab, mainstream journalistic norms specifically call for not paying sources.

"Traditionally, the journalistic norm has been to not pay sources. However, some arguments have been made that go against this. For example, stories that involve multiple sources might include some that have been paid to disclose information. Also, people may not get paid directly for being a source, but could get compensated in other ways, like being offered payment for licensing photographs."

These sources could remain anonymous or choose to reveal their identity, a concept made possible through a BLTV token function called "BLTV newsroom."

Even with rigid verification of news tips and reputation scores, Benton remains skeptical of a model that uses tokens to reward its sources.