Quick Critique of the Original by a Devil's Advocate

You need a very clear elevator pitch. How do you get across the idea in fifteen seconds or less? I must admit, I'm not all that clear on what you are proposing.

* What makes this idea unique? *
Inclusiveness, democracy, and convergence aren't really all that unique. Most places at least give lip service to inclusiveness. More and more sites are trying to be more democratic, and convergence is a popular buzzword that everyone strives to attain. I still don't see what makes your site unique.

You talk about inviting people into the writing and editing process. What makes you think you will be successful in bringing people in? Many people simply want a better news source, without having to do any additional work themselves. What will make people want to write or edit for your site? As an aside, this gets to a problem with the title 'people who give a damn'. I suspect it excludes an aweful lot of people. Are there enough people in Natick or Framingham who really do give enough of a damn to work hard to make this successful? If not, how do you broaden the reach, or help get more people to give a damn?

In terms of cost, what does the $250,000 really buy? Your time? Developers time? What are the deliverables? Are there modules that will be developed for Drupal that will provide some sort of new functionality that facilitates inclusive democractic convergent use of Drupal? What would such modules be like?

Then, what happens when the money is gone? How does this become sustainable? Where does money come from after two years?