Updates from the Good News Department

Join a chat with David Corn on Thursday?   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, Shocked and terrified, a huge sense of relief, uncertain about what’s ahead, worn out and ready for a break from it all, hopeful, or disempowered and defeated… There’s no telling how, and no one way, we’re all going to be feeling a year from right now—two days after yet another most important election of our lifetimes, when votes have finally been cast in the 2024 presidential contest. But one thing is certain: We don’t want to feel like we could have done more. So this is a good time for a check-in with the MoJo community. Folks have said they appreciate hearing about our priorities, our big projects, and our perspectives on the news media like we share when we’re in fundraising mode—and we’re trying to do it from time to time when we’re not asking for your support. As always, [your feedback is welcomed and appreciated](. What we have for you today: A special invitation to chat with David Corn later this week, updates from the Good News Department, and Monika’s latest on the trends shaping the news you get. PREPARING FOR THE 2024 ELECTION [Voting rights](, [disinformation](, [dark money](, [corruption](, [extremism](, and deep dives into often overlooked candidates and forces that threaten democracy, while elevating the voices of those who are pushing back—a lot of people ask how we plan to cover the immensely consequential election, and the answer is mostly: Keep on doing the type of journalism we do day-in, day-out. A few things we’ve got our eyes on include continuing to scrutinize secretive groups like No Labels, which David Corn and Russ Choma have [already]( [unearthed]( [so much]( on. Ari Berman and [Pema Levy]( will be digging deep [wherever]( voting rights are under attack. Kiera Butler will continue investigating groups like [Moms for Liberty](. Madison Pauly, Abby Vesoulis, and our fierce [gender justice]( team will be all in covering the first presidential election after Roe’s reversal. Dan Friedman and Russ Choma will [continue]( to be on top of Trump’s [legal woes](. The list goes on. Everyone’s work touches democracy. Everyone is all in. An important part of our election coverage is also having the independence and guts to reject false equivalency and be able to call the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden [a sham](, or Donald Trump a [stochastic terrorist](, when that’s what the evidence supports—and when authoritarianism will be either beaten back or [cemented]( a year from now. How about you? What are you doing to prepare for the election? Over the summer, Brian [borrowed a page]( from the organizing world, where making a plan for voting has been shown to increase turnout. He shared three things he’s committing to do before next November, and asked MoJo readers to do the same and [create and share their plan](. Thanks so much to everyone who did! Writing postcards to voters was something that came up often (a simple search will help you find organizations to plug into), as was volunteering for GOTV efforts like phone-banking and door-knocking, donating to organizations and candidates who are fighting back, and volunteering on election day itself. “I will keep a good heart and lead by example,” and “I will keep myself hopeful by focusing on the positive” were also great to hear. And we’d love to [hear from more folks](, to know we’re all going above and beyond this year. A GET-TOGETHER WITH DAVID CORN ON THURSDAY Here’s something else you can do to get prepared: Join David Corn, our DC bureau chief, for an informal chat via Zoom this Thursday, November 9 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. David had already planned this awesome opportunity for premium subscribers to [Our Land](, his personal newsletter, where he shares his scoops, insider accounts, and smart analysis with readers. After a free 30-day trial, Our Land costs $5 a month. It is worth every penny, because it’s a great way to connect with David—and help us keep the lights on around here. And we’re so glad David said we could open up his Our Land get-together to folks who aren’t paid subscribers yet! Just [sign up for a free trial using this link]( by Noon ET/9 a.m. PT on Thursday and you’re in. The conversation will be held two days after today’s critical elections in Virginia and Ohio, and David says there will “far too much to talk about, to vent about, and to cry about, and wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes something of a support group.” Sound good? Sign up for your free trial today to David’s newsletter, [with this link](, and on Thursday afternoon we’ll send you details to join the Zoom at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT so you can see how great Our Land is. (And speaking of smart analysis and greatness, Daniel King, MoJo standards and copy editor, recently wrote about journalists being told not to say “terrorism” after a leaked memo argued such a label is “opinion, not fact.” That’s crap, and [Daniel’s post about the power of the words we choose is worth reading](.) THE GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT You know how they say people don’t want or read longform, substantive journalism online? That’s crap, too. A few weeks ago [we shared the big impact]( from Julia Lurie’s huge, yearlong investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that was using foster kids as “cash cows”—including how a civil rights lawyer working to keep a child out of one the facilities we investigated wrote to her to say something that really moved us: “Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.” Swoon. Well, we’re delighted to share that Julia’s piece was our most-trafficked story on the web last month. That’s awesome, and in a world of clickbait and hyper-optimization for eyeballs, it says a lot about the Mother Jones community—you expect more from the media. That’s how this is supposed to work. Thank you. More good news: Back in May, Mother Jones’ disinformation reporter Ali Breland [broke a story]( about the US government allegedly helping companies sell surveillance tech to repressive regimes around the world—something Sen. Ron Wyden had been asking questions about, but getting nowhere. Seven months went by, but just last week, the Commerce Department finally [announced new policies]( to prevent such practices. Bravo, Ali! A little sunlight can still be quite the disinfectant. Speaking of: Rep. George Santos was [twice]( [indicted]( last month for an alleged fake-donor scheme [exposed in February]( by David Corn and Noah Lanard. It was classic shoe-leather reporting—literally. Noah traversed Long Island to physically knock on doors of people listed as donors to Santos’ campaign, while David worked the phone. Surprise, surprise—some of those donors either didn’t exist, or had never donated to Santos. Despite this latest indictment, the US House failed to expel Santos after voting on it again last week, and Inae Oh has a smart take on why New York Republicans wanted everyone to know they tried to boot him: [Polling and power](. The facts David and Noah brought to light will keep playing out in the courts and the voting booth, even if they don’t lead to accountability from Santos’ Congressional colleagues. Finally on the good news front, we are thrilled to send a warm welcome to two new Mother Jones staffers! Julianne McShane fills an opening on the news and engagement desk (after grad school snatched another [good one]( from us) where she’ll be on the frontline of so much of our work—helping write our [Daily newsletter](, adding context to the day’s breaking news, and reporting on LGBTQ rights and reproductive justice. She’s off to such a [great start](! And Jamilah King is one of those MoJo-ers who return to our newsroom after gathering valuable experience elsewhere. Jamilah did [amazing work]( here a few years back hosting the Mother Jones Podcast and reporting deeply on race and justice, with a particular focus on the rising political power of women of color—she was among the first to profile then-Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, then-Senator Kamala Harris, and then-congressional candidate Lucy McBath. Then she went off to help run the team at Buzzfeed News, at the time one of the biggest digital news sites. She’s also been an adjunct lecturer on political reporting at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, and was the host of HBO’s The Last Call Podcast, a riveting companion to the multi-part documentary series. Jamilah is back as an editorial director and we couldn’t be more delighted. She’ll help Mother Jones deepen our investigative journalism on the biggest issues, including climate justice, racial justice, and wealth inequality, while adding editing, project, and leadership expertise across the board. MEDIA TRENDS Last thing: We haven’t yet shared Monika’s most recent column about [the trends shaping the news](—and it’s worth a quick mention. The upshot: “Hard” news, the kind about power, money, the way we govern ourselves and other difficult subjects, the kind that we just wrote about, has always been a pain in the neck for media execs—and it increasingly explains why you’re seeing [less of it]( from platforms like Facebook, Threads, or Elon Musk’s X. “There’s no market for that.” “Stories about politics just turn everyone off.” Not true! Like Julia’s story, our team’s in-depth reporting, and YOU ALL continue to prove day-in, day-out. And that seems like a great note to end this update on. Thanks for reading, and for all that 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}. 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