The Story of Civil Is Not One of Total Failure

To judge the media company on its failed token sale is to overlook its very real wins for journalism

Photo by Aleyna Rentz

The story of Civil’s effort to build the new economy for journalism is an interesting one. It’s the story of trying to overcome some incredible odds. And it’s also the story of some impressive creativity and a new way of thinking, at a time when society desperately needs it.

The undertaking was, in one sense, a massive crowdfunding campaign. Where previous efforts like De Correspondent, Krautreporter, and Mediapart raised in the range of $1 million to $2 million, Civil sought to raise between $8 million and $24 million. Where the previous efforts sought to raise funds for a single newsroom, Civil sought to raise money for dozens, hundreds, or even—in theory—thousands of newsrooms by selling its own cryptocurrency.

Civil may have just stumbled on some powerful new ideas for journalism’s future

The initiative was made more difficult because it was asking regular people, “consumers,” to purchase a new form of cryptocurrency. And that challenge proved insurmountable for now. However, in the process, the team and Civil may have just stumbled on some powerful new ideas for…