I get paid fuck all for what I 'create' [ha!] for Brixton Buzz. I wouldn't want it any other way.
We are a small team at Brixton Buzz. We aren't in this for the money. There is none...
What motivates me personally is the need to report stories that others are so blatantly missing. It sounds really arsey but I genuinely believe that these are important stories that need to be told in Brixton. Others can't be arsed, or they have other commercial restrictions preventing them from reporting these issues.
If
editor offered me any payment for Brixton Buzz then it would seem false. I'd become a clock watcher. I'd think just 300 more words and then I've earned my wage for this story. There would be no motivation. The stories would be even more bollocks than usual.
There is so much shit spoken about 'sustainability' with websites. Your reference to the 'value' of twitter feeds is evidence of this. We aren't striving to have the largest number of followers. Twitter is just but one means in which we can use to tell people about our stories.
The only way you can sustain what you are doing is by having a passion to write these stories. The only funding that we need is the cost of hosting. I'll happily write a story first thing before work if it means getting it out there. I'd hate to be in a position where I rely upon begging to readers to fund what I am writing.