Journalism and other things we love.

A big story from yesterday.   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, We’re excited to talk about our team’s great journalism and a few other things we love today. But we need to put the business end first, because we need to raise what’s now about $206,000 [in online donations]( by October 7 to keep the journalism that we’re all here for going strong for this financially uncertain, high-stakes year. And we’ll be quick about it. - The $47,000 we’ve raised in the first 6 days of our vitally important fundraising drive is pretty good—better than we’ve often seen this time of year. [Laying it all out for you like we did]( seems to be resonating with folks. - But it’s not good enough to put us on a path to the $253,000 we need in just two and a half weeks. - We had a much slower than expected weekend and it made us fairly concerned. - So, we need to see a strong response, [a lot of donations](, come in from this email to put us on a plausible path to our big number. - If we see a lower-end-of-normal, or even a bad response, ugh—it’s officially cause for concern, short-term and long-term, and probably some regrouping about how we can raise [the money we need]( to stay on track. - It is [staggeringly hard]( to keep a newsroom afloat right now, and we can’t afford to come up short on these fundraising goals and end up with a bigger gap than can be filled like last year. We can’t stomach making [any more]( cuts as we go. [Please help if you can right now](. This is all about the journalism, and now that we got our nervous energy out of the way, that’s what we’ll focus on. You’re here for reporting you don’t find elsewhere, and MoJo readers have been generous of late in helping us learn what resonates most about our work through our first [newsletter]( survey, a series of [focus groups](, [online feedback](, or everyday conversation. You told us you’re here for a trusted voice to help you cut through the noise and know which stories really matter; for [deep dives]( and [investigations]( that are all too rare in today’s media landscape; for coverage of [underreported]( beats that we [get out ahead]( of and [stick with](; for [unique perspectives]( and a [fiery and fact-based]( voice that add something to the day’s news. To a freaking T, these are the very things we can do only because [support from a broad base of readers]( is our biggest source of funding. It’s that simple. It’s exactly why Mother Jones was established as a nonprofit, to do things different than the corporate media. We love how it all works. Rigorous journalism that doesn’t shy away from the most important (or dangerous) stories takes time—and guts. It takes the security of knowing that your boss isn’t breathing down your neck to crank out five more posts today. It takes a team that wants to say, “yeah, go for it” when you pitch a big, important story—and then gives you the support to nail it. It takes the certainty that if a vindictive dark-money donor comes after you in court, [you’ll be defended](, no matter how hard it is. That’s why there isn’t that much reporting like MoJo’s out there, and what there is exists mostly at the mercy of big-time investors and owners, who can—[and do](—pull the plug at any moment. Mother Jones isn’t like that. We don’t have an owner or investor—we have thousands and thousands of them. That’s you. You have [made our work possible]( for 47 years now, and even though every one of those has been a struggle to make ends meet, we’d much rather operate this way than be at the mercy of a billionaire. We don’t need to tell you how urgent this moment is right now, both [for journalism]( and [for democracy](. The lights are flashing red. But it’s also true that some folks have gotten a little used to those flashing lights, and they might not feel the urgency right now—at least not the way they did when Donald Trump was first elected. Not you. Mother Jones readers are different. You don’t stand up for democracy just when the crisis is blaring at you from every TV screen. You know the good fight is a long slog, and that it takes one step at a time, by many, many people. And you know that sometimes one of those steps is [parting with a few bucks if you can]( to help make sure that fearless, independent journalism is there to hold the powerful to account. Here’s just one example that comes to mind because we just published it yesterday: An [investigation](, in collaboration with the Center for Investigative Reporting, of how police often bully sexual assault survivors to retract their accusations. Yes, you read that right—this is happening in 2023, in communities all over the country, teenage girls are put in freezing interrogation cells for hours and grilled until they recant their account of the worst moment in their lives. You can watch the video in the story, and it will make your blood run cold. But there’s no way anyone would have known this is happening, had it not been for Rachel de Leon, a reporter who spent years digging through documents, suing police departments for information the public deserves to see, and building trust with survivors to tell this story. Those young women don’t have a lobby. They don’t have billionaires or deep-pocketed investors to stand up for them. All they have is their voices. But their voices are powerful—if they can be heard. Making sure they are heard is our job, and our community of readers is the only reason we can do it. If you can right now, [please help us pick up the pace toward our big goal with a donation today](—we really need to see more giving than normal right now, and we hope looking at some of our reporting makes a strong case. Thanks for reading, and for everything you do to help make Mother Jones what it is. Onward, 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