Kudos.

So many people to thank for this one.   [Mother Jones + The Center for Investigative Reporting]( MoJo Reader, When you publish a truly significant, one-of-a-kind investigation, of course you’re going to [write to readers]( about it. When that story is also one of the most sensitive, intensely personal pieces you’ve ever reported, you’re not going to plaster fundraising pitches all over it. But Mark Follman’s 14,000-word cover story, “[Lessons From a Mass Shooter’s Mother](,” and the gripping radio documentary on Reveal show exactly why we joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting and why [support from our community]( is the reason we can do work that’s different from most. If you haven’t, please [listen to it on Reveal]( when you have just shy of an hour to be totally immersed in a powerful story. It’s riveting, it’s heartbreaking, it’s revelatory. It’s astonishing journalism that reaches you on a different emotional level than words on a page or screen can. This part is obvious, too: Mark spent much of his time over the past two years working on this project, and the past 12 years reporting on gun violence and mass shootings. When we started making this a big priority, no one else was looking into these tragedies at this depth to [understand]( how they might [be prevented]( in a sustained manner. Some of the reasons why: Giving reporters time to go deep, especially in today’s economic climate, is rare. Covering a controversial topic can lead to blowback. Advertisers often don’t like to have their ads on this kind of reporting. In-depth reporting like this simply isn’t possible in most newsrooms. But it is here at Mother Jones. The editorial and financial independence that comes with being a nonprofit [powered by people](, not driven by profit or corporate concerns, lets us do essential reporting when others can’t or won’t. And when it comes to showing what can be done to actually prevent these tragedies, as Mark shares [in his personal essay about this project](, things are being done—and people need to know about the promising solutions and the problematic myths. With MoJo and Reveal joined in one newsroom, the roughly 10 million people we reach per month can now know Chin Rodger’s story and how experts in threat assessment are learning from it. Information like that matters. And some quick math: There are more than 50,000 donors to Mother Jones and Reveal combined, so everyone who [supports our work]( lets us reach about 200 people each month with reporting that matters. [Your donation](, in a sense, just about fills a 737 with people reading Mother Jones or listening to Reveal instead of the normal airplane fare—and it’s just one among a fleet of 49,999 other planes. Wow. Speaking of wow, and speaking of people, last thing: How many journalists do you think it took to do a feature story and radio documentary of this caliber? Got a number in mind? You probably need to make it bigger. Because here are all the people who story editor Jeremy Schulman thanked for their awesome work in our office-wide “kudos chat” on Monday. - Ruth Murai, who oversaw the entire fact-checking process - Maggie Duffy, who provided incredibly thorough and valuable fact-checking for both the magazine story and the Reveal episode - Daniel King, who did vital copy editing - Nikki Frick, who worked closely with both Maggie and Daniel - Adrienne Armstrong, who proofread the magazine - Sophie Murguia, who oversaw … everything magazine-related - Mother Jones production manager Yuki Tessitore-Vu, who makes sure the magazine actually gets published - Michael I Schiller, who produced the Reveal episode - Jenny Casas, who edited the Reveal episode - Reveal host Al Letson - Reveal production managers Steven Rascón and Zulema Cobb - Jim Briggs and Fernando Arruda, who are responsible for Reveal score and sound design - Reveal deputy editor Kate Howard - Brett Myers and Taki Telonidis, Reveal’s interim executive producers - Creative director Adam Vieyra, who oversaw design of the magazine and online article - Photo editor Mark Murrmann - Photographer Philip Cheung - Illustrator Mike McQuade, who created the magazine cover art - Daniel Moattar, who oversaw publication of the article online - Inae Oh, Sam Van Pykeren, Arianna Coghill, and Julianne McShane, who helped tell the story on social media - Sean Wherley, who promoted our journalism far and wide - James West, who, among everything else, also helped with field production for the Reveal episode - Clara Jeffery, who worked tirelessly on every part of this project - Monika Bauerlein, who found time in the middle of running the organization to provide feedback - Half a dozen other Mother Jones editors, who stepped in to edit unrelated stories Jeremy couldn’t field because of this project. Add in Mark, of course, and Jeremy himself, and that’s (at least) 38 talented people we’re grateful for on this one particular investigation, 38 salaries we pay to do journalism you don’t get elsewhere. [Please help us do difficult work like this with a donation if you can right now](. Thanks for reading and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Monika Bauerlein CEO Brian Hiatt Online Membership Director [Donate](   [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755