Dear Readers,
Last month, our friends at AlterNet published the findings of their online poll, ranking the top progressive voices and publications on which the public depends.
In that poll, Truthout was ranked as the No. 4 most influential progressive publication in the country, just behind the newly corporatized behemoth The Huffington Post. This honor is a major milestone for the editors, production crew, reporters, artists and interns who work here, because it serves as validation that our passion for news and the years we have invested in strengthening Truthout have made a difference.
Of course, this level of impact would not have been possible without the financial support of our loyal readers. In just a few months, Truthout will celebrate a milestone – its 10th anniversary. The media landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade, with many of our colleagues adopting a model that calls for publishing “screaming” headlines as a way to generate traffic and advertising revenue, a fact highlighted by a Pew study last week.
Our impact is tangible, and it’s because of our supporters that we’re able to fund this work. If you haven’t given yet, please help us continue to make waves, pushing forward the vital discourse upon which our community and our society rely.
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Sincerely,
Jason Leopold, Deputy Managing Editor
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.