FifthEstate Inc. Information

FifthEstate is an open media collective featuring original content and viewpoints from real people around the world. The site includes localized sections for news, as well as categories for business, sports, technology, science, life, and arts & entertainment. Mission FifthEstate was founded with the mission of democratizing media by providing a common outlet for regular people around the world to connect with their communities. Traditional media outlets have struggled in recent years, and narrowed their coverage, leaving many communities (both geographic and virtual) without traditional media coverage. Meanwhile, big web media companies such as Facebook and Google have increasingly resorted to censorship and hidden bias to protect their interests. This should create an opportunity for independent media, but blogging, the traditional channel for independent journalism, just doesn't work. Over 95% of blogs are abandoned, not counting millions of blogs that have just disappeared. People typically quit blogging because they have difficulty reaching an audience, don’t have time to keep their blog updated, experience technical difficulties, or don’t make any money. How FifthEstate is Different As an open media collective, membership in FifthEstate is free and open to all, and alternative viewpoints are welcomed. FifthEstate does not exercise editorial discretion, other than addressing Terms of Use violations (e.g., we prohibit spam, profanity, obscenity, threats, and copyright violations). We use a transparent revenue model that shares 50% to 80% of attributed revenues with authors. And unlike blogs, FifthEstate uses a common, localized platform that makes it easy for users to find unique and relevant content, and for authors to build an audience. Because FifthEstate handles backend technology and monetization, authors can focus on creating meaningful, provocative, and entertaining content, rather than worrying about ad rates or technology.