Excuse me, Mr. Bloomberg?

That's not how journalism works. MoJo Reader: Last week, in "[Billionaires Are Not the Answer](," I wrote to you about the state of journalism and our plans for the year ahead—asking you to consider [supporting Mother Jones' people-powered journalism with a tax-deductible, year-end donation](. My main argument was this: As the traditional model that pays for reporting—advertising—has collapsed, we journalists often lament that "the only business model left is billionaires." But the free press that our democracy was founded on—and that is so desperately needed right now—cannot afford to rely on the goodwill of billionaires, in part because it's just too easy for the ultrarich to serve their own interests by controlling the media. And last Friday, Michael Bloomberg—presidential candidate and owner of a media operation that employs 2,700 journalists and posts 5,000 stories a day—helped prove my point. In response to a question about Bloomberg News' decision not to let its reporters investigate him, or any of his competitors in the Democratic field, Bloomberg said: "We just have to learn to live with some things. They get a paycheck. But with your paycheck comes restrictions and responsibilities." With your paycheck comes restrictions. Subtle. And exactly why it's so important, as politics and media veer toward an oligarchy controlled by the uber-rich, that we build an alternative where journalism is funded by and answerable to its community. That’s the path Mother Jones has chosen and heading into 2020 it’s more important than ever to protect independent journalism without "restrictions." Journalism whose only "responsibility" is to go after the truth no matter whom it inconveniences. [Please help us do it with a tax-deducible, year-end gift today](. Reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget and allows us to go after challenging, underreported, sometimes dangerous stories without fear, favor, or false equivalency. Mother Jones' owners—you—want us to charge hard and refuse to back down. And because we answer only to you, we don't have to worry about a wealthy owner like Michael Bloomberg yanking our leash. We don't have to worry about a risk-averse corporation calling the shots. And we don't have to worry about investors looking to make a profit with the news, instead of an impact. But there is one thing we do have to worry about: [earning the support of readers like you one a time]( so we can pay our 60-plus top-notch journalists and give them the time and space (the most important ingredients to produce revelatory journalism) to investigate stories that need to be told, but that advertising revenue would never pay for, and that billionaires might never want printed. This month in particular, we need to raise $600,000 from the MoJo community. Thanks to the incredible support from our readers and the strong reporting that our team has cranked out over these past few years, Mother Jones has grown while so many other newsrooms are forced to "do more with less:" 7,200 jobs have been lost in media this year alone. But while reporting firepower fades, the number of abuses of power to be investigated only grows. There are documents to dive into and dots to connect. More sources to track down to find out what the powerful want to keep secret. We owe it to you to put absolutely everything we possibly can into the fight for our democracy, because the big question heading into 2020 isn't only who's going to win the presidency and control Congress: It's whether politics and the media will be a billionaires' game, or a playing field where the rest of us have a shot. You know where we stand, and I hope I can count on you to [help us keep doing the type of journalism that corporations or billionaires would never fund by making a year-end donation to Mother Jones today](. Thanks for reading, and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Even if you can't pitch in during our December fundraiser, I'm glad you're with us. Monika Bauerlein, CEO Mother Jones P.S. If you've donated in the last several hours, thanks so much! Sometimes our systems are a little slow to catch up. [DONATE]( 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](E2%80%8B). 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