Re: This is a short email about Fox News and Daily Kos. Please read. It's important.

Friend, the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout ravaged news media companies. An estimated [37,000 media jobs]( were lost, furloughed or had salaries reduced. So far, many of those jobs have not returned. During that same period, Fox News had only a handful of [layoffs](. They hired additional staff to cover the 2020 election, and when that work was over, those employees were laid off. Media companies, not just progressive or online but even traditional outlets are hemorrhaging jobs, often at the cost of quality reporting. Meanwhile, Fox News continues their pandering to the lowest common denominator. Shoveling out lies and conspiracy theories to their large viewership. The work needed to undo the damage of the Trump administration isn't done yet. If our lawmakers only have to answer to the likes of Fox News and the right-wing punditry instead of the progressive grassroots, then our job gets a lot harder to create meaningful change. [Daily Kos was very fortunate that we didn't have to make the hard decision to lay off staff during the pandemic. In large part, because of our supportive readers and activists that gave just a few bucks at a time. Can you support the work we do day in and day out by giving $5 today?]( [DONATE]( Thank you for all you do, Amanda McKay, Daily Kos --------------------------------------------------------------- Friend, in 2019, ThinkProgress, long seen as one of the largest progressive news sites on the internet, [shut down](. A few months later, in early 2020, progressive giant, CREDO Action also shutdown, they were one of the largest and fiercest organizations in the digital grassroots world. It isn’t just overtly progressive activist organizations and media outlets that have been struggling. Many larger, “mainstream,” but still clearly left-of-center, digital operations went through layoffs over the last couple of years, including Vox, Vice, Huffington Post, and Buzzfeed. Fox News, meanwhile, continues to have the [highest ratings](. Even after Trump left office, when every news media outlet, including Daily Kos, saw a drop in engagement, Fox News continually saw the highest ratings. This is serious trouble. After the election of President Biden, instead of moving to the political center, they dug deeper into their right-wing propaganda. They have continually pushed conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the vaccine -- literally, making people sicker. They sowed seeds of doubt in our elections by echoing Trump's claims of voter fraud, and now they are attacking Afghan refugees trying to flee their fallen county. Fox News continues to boom while progressive and even mainstream journalists are losing their jobs. If politicians only have to answer to the likes of Fox News and the right-wing punditry instead of the progressive grassroots, then we are going to lose every single fight this year and for many years to come. [Every August we take a fundraising hit. That's why I am asking you to please keep independent, progressive media going by donating $5 to Daily Kos today. Daily Kos is able to avoid layoffs because, unlike other media outlets, our leading source of revenue comes not from advertising or paywalls but from community donations.]( [DONATE]( Keep fighting, Amanda McKay, 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](.