OptOut News, a news aggregation application primarily featuring journalism from financially independent and progressive sources, has ceased operations as of January 1 due to insufficient funding. Co-founder Alex Kotch revealed that the OptOut Media Foundation struggled to secure necessary grants beyond its initial seed funding. Marketing challenges and stagnated fundraising efforts made it impossible to sustain the app, which nonetheless offered quality investigative reporting. The organization is now rebranding as the Accountability Journalism Institute to redirect efforts toward more essential journalistic needs in the current climate.
Despite our efforts, most foundations that funded journalism said no. Most weren't willing to take a risk with a new tech product. They seemed to stick mostly to funding news production and education directly.
We didn't have enough money to truly market the app and newsletters so we could grow the way we wanted. Fundraising stagnated.
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