October 30, 2009

Quoth the Newspaper Maven, “Nevermore”

Detail of Flickr photo by D. Ross Cameron; original viewable <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/drosscameron/4042305150/in/set-72157622657051080/" target="_blank">here</a>.

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Spotted outside a mystery house in Alameda, California, where local news reporters dwell, pondering their dim fates, as apparitions of former colleagues float despairingly in a fog of alcohol and memories, searching for their shrunken and canceled beats; cursing Craigslist, the blogosphere, consolidation, leveraged CEOs, shareholder expectations—all those things that would not kindly stop for the good people who put good stories on paper, nor yield to the needs of a civil democracy, but rather stumble forward: Relentless. Undead. Bloodsuckers and zombies. Happy Halloween!

(You can’t tell from the photo, but the hand extending up from the grave is clutching a copy of Dean Singleton‘s Oakland Tribune.)

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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