April 7, 2016

Radical Transparency is the Latest Hot Trend in Online Journalism

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The latest hot trend in online journalism is transparency in the editing process. For example, there’s this from the New Republic:

The secret is that this is from my RSS feed. You won’t see it if you click the link and go directly to the TNR site. Then there’s this from Vox:

This one, however, turned out not to be a secret RSS bug. Vox just posted the wrong version on their site, and then removed it a few minutes later. Spoilsports. Personally, though, I applaud this trend. I think everyone should publish both initial drafts and final edits, along with all editor queries. Or, maybe some clever anarchist should hack into the New York Times content management system and download a few years’ worth of initial drafts and editor comments. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

NOTE: Do not target me. Someone else, please. Besides, no one edits my blog posts, so there are no fun editor queries. All the mistakes, idiotic opinions, and transparently anti-Bernie/anti-Hillary propaganda is my fault alone.

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

Your support keeps us going. If you’re able, donate today.

Thanks for reading.

—Monika

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