Columbia Missourian turns to online donations to fund records request

Spot.us
The Columbia Missourian is using crowdfunding site Spot.us to raise $500 for an open-records request. The newspaper sought a copy of the city of Columbia’s parking ticket records, and was told to pay $500 for an outside vendor to convert the “arcane” database into something usable. The Missourian is paying $150, and is asking supporters to pitch in the other $350 (the Missourian is owned by a nonprofit and operated by the University of Missouri School of Journalism, so money is tight). As of Friday afternoon, 53 people had raised more than $425, leaving the campaign only $75 short of the goal.