More layoffs (please read)

Hi friend, one last note about the shocking layoffs that have hit the media: Daily Kos has weathered the storm that's forced media outlets like the Huffington Post and Vice to lay off 1,700 people so far this year. We have done so thanks to readers supporting our work—that is, people like you chipping just a few dollars at a time—when ad revenue has fallen short. But relying on our readers is sometimes a scary thing. What if we send an email like this one and no one donates? That's what makes recurring contributions so powerful, even if they're just $1 a month. Seeing that our readers have collectively pledged to give us a certain amount of money month to month allows us to better plan our activism campaigns, hire staff and add new features to the site. And that, importantly, gives us a huge peace of mind that—despite the pressures of online publishing—Daily Kos is on solid footing. [So, if you support independent, progressive media and you haven't already chipped in, please click here to set up a $5 monthly contribution to support Daily Kos.]( [Can't chip in monthly? Please click here to chip in $5 one time.]( Thank you again, Michael Langenmayr, Daily Kos P.S. In case you missed it, here's what Daily Kos founder and publisher Markos Moulitsas wrote earlier in the week about the massive layoffs hitting news media right now. --------------------------------------------------------------- MARKOS' EMAIL: Friend, I'm getting sick. Last week brought more devastating losses to American media, with hundreds of layoffs from industry giants McClatchy and Vice Media. Combined with layoffs made earlier in January by Buzzfeed, Huffington Post and Gannett, more than 1,700 writers, editors and support staff have been laid off so far this year—and it's only February 4. The work these people do—investigating and chasing down leads, checking facts, writing stories, proofreading, and promoting important content to inform the American people—is absolutely critical. Trump's lies are promoted to millions by a right-wing propaganda machine led by Fox News, and working to debunk those lies and report the truth is a public service. Daily Kos has been able to survive and thrive in this media environment because of readers like you chipping in $5, $10 or $20 to support our work, but we're not immune to the pressures of digital publishing and we've been in tight spots in the past. [Independent, progressive media is more important now than ever. So please click here to chip in $5 a month to help Daily Kos keep fighting.]( [Or, if you can't contribute monthly, please click here to chip in $5 one time.]( A lot will be written about why these layoffs keep coming, but it all comes down to this: Facebook and Google are crushing smaller media sites and running news publications out of business. These tech giants are promoting news content from these very sites, but have rigged the system so they keep more and more of the ad money for themselves. Something has to give, and for companies like McClatchy and many others, that meant layoffs. Daily Kos faced this problem in the past, but we have one big advantage over these other groups: We have you. We've asked our readers to help chip in to keep the site running, and to help grow it to provide new coverage of important topics like immigration and criminal justice, and you came through for us every time. It allowed us to steer clear of vulture capitalists and billionaire backers who have their own agendas, making Daily Kos the biggest independent progressive news site on the internet. [If you want to see more independent, progressive media and not less, click here to start a $5 recurring monthly donation help Daily Kos keep fighting.]( [Or, if you can't chip in monthly, please click here to chip in $5 one time.]( Thank you, Markos Moulitsas Founder and Publisher, Daily Kos If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible. Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.