New York Times columnist David Carr laments the lack of support for some innovations in journalism, citing the website Homicide Watch DC, which is on hiatus as founders Laura and Chris Amico find themselves with the tin cup out on Kickstarter looking for money to sustain the site. The site, part news site, and part digital memorial for homicide victims in Washington, “is difficult but important work that current business models won't accommodate, and Homicide Watch reaches an underserved community, since most of the victims are black,” Carr says.
Even though it has received all kinds of notice in the press and went from 500 page views a month to more than 300,000, it remained the handiwork of a wife and husband team. Neither hyper-local nor strictly investigative, Homicide Watch DC doesn’t fit neatly into the pigeon holes that foundations have at the ready, Carr says, adding, “Like the victims it covers, Homicide Watch ended up falling through the cracks.” Actually, Carr reports, Homicide Watch DC has just reached a goal of raising $40,000 via Kickstarter.