re: Update on the future of Daily Kos

Friend, it's hard to exaggerate the dire state of the news media today. National and local, old and new, print and online—news outlets everywhere are in decline. Daily Kos faces the same challenges as other outlets. But while many, many outlets have been forced to shut down, lay off staff, or cut pay and benefits to survive, Daily Kos has survived intact. In fact, we've grown. As Chris explained in his last email, which I've included below, this was only possible because of you. Daily Kos is unique in many ways, and among those ways is how we operate. Our biggest source of revenue comes from readers and activists like you, each chipping in a few dollars at a time so that we can keep fighting. [Daily Kos is an essential news source. We're a progressive, independent voice that connects news to action. We're free of big money influence because our income comes from you—our small, grassroots donors. If you want to support progressive, independent media in this difficult time for news media, then please click here to start a monthly recurring contribution to Daily Kos today.]( [DONATE MONTHLY]( [Or, if you can't contribute monthly, please click here to chip in one time.]( Thank you, Michael Langenmayr, Daily Kos --------------------------------------------------------------- Friend, I wrote to you last year about the dire state of the news media. After more than a decade of terrible developments, the pandemic threatened to become, as Buzzfeed accurately dubbed it, "[a media extinction event](." Now, we finally know the full extent of the damage, and [it's astonishingly bad](. A record-breaking 16,160 newsroom jobs were lost last year. This, during a presidential election featuring the lying-est president in American history and the mainstreaming of fake news and conspiracy theories that eventually led to violence at the Capitol on January 6. The scary thing is no part of the news media is safe. Print, television, and online outlets all shed jobs as the ad dollars that once sustained fact-checked, proofread journalism instead went to tech giants Facebook and Google, who have effectively duopolized online ad revenue. Scarier still, there are no signs of recovery. In 2019, ThinkProgress, one of the largest and longest-running progressive news sites on the internet, shut down. No new outlet emerged to take its place. In 2020, many more traditional, but still left-of-center, outlets like Vice, Vox, and Buzzfeed were forced to [make layoffs, furloughs, benefit cuts, and pay cuts]( to stave off even greater layoffs. The collapse of the news media has terrifying implications for Americans' ability to hold elected officials accountable, and also for how we get our information in moments of crisis, such as the ongoing pandemic. Daily Kos was able to avoid the mass layoffs last year and throughout the past decade because, unlike almost everyone else, our largest source of revenue comes not from advertising, but from grassroots support—that is to say, contributions from readers and activists like you. Contributions of just a few dollars at a time makes sure that we can pay our bills. But what's more, it makes us accountable to you—not to a billionaire backer, hedge fund, or corporate advertisers. We know that in order to keep operating, we have to fight and deliver for what you believe in. [Daily Kos is not immune to the financial challenges facing news publishers today, but we've been able to weather this storm thanks to the support of readers and activists like you. It is essential that independent, progressive media continues providing you news you can do something about—most especially during a time of national crisis, as we work to repair the damage Trump inflicted on our country. Please, click here to start a $5 monthly recurring donation to Daily Kos today.]( [DONATE MONTHLY]( [Can't donate monthly? Please click here to make a one-time donation to Daily Kos.]( In solidarity, Chris Bowers, 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. (Please note that we may be slow to process checks during the coronavirus outbreak.) 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](.