Tom and John, good morning;
I already know both Banyan Project and the Tao Pledge. Actually, I first heard the concept of "news desert" reading a post of Tom in the NiemanLab, if I am not wrong (that's how I found the Banyan Project). The concept of "news desert" is a major influence in the research I am doing as I think that not only the "desertificated" areas are left without news coverage, something that obviously hinders its population in all senses - from economic to educational issues - but also is a damage to global news coverage.
If there are no journalists regularly covering the area, in the happening of a major news event (an earthquake, flood, famine, social unrest), usually the coverage is made by someone completely unattached of the surrounding context and therefore, more likely to make distorted interpretations of what's happening.
The TAO pledge is certainly something that I will be looking to add within my plans. I am a firm believer that in the future, this kind of initiative will be in the core of this new media scenario we will have. That's why I've been dedicating so much time researching and studying (not in my working hours).
Finally, mentioning the relationship between trust and cooperation, actually this is exactly how I feel that this new scenario will rise from. I don't believe that all big journalism brands will die, but a new class of news 'animal' will become feasible when it would be easier for the audience to trust a media they've never heard about - but others did. If there is interest from some of you, I would be glad to report the main lines of the idea. That's why I am looking for a programmer - I am sure that it would be far, far easier to explain even easier to spot where are the flaws if I had a beta version of it working…
Major thanks for you all for the input. Other than the help itself, writing about it helps me a lot to think more about it.
My best wishes