August 9, 2007

Newspapers ‘Pay It Forward’

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Minneapolis has been on the minds of many since the devastating events of last week. But being on people’s minds wasn’t enough for some; one newspaper took it a step further. The Roanoke Times, a Virginia newspaper, sent a snack bundle including pork rinds, cupcakes, and other “delicacies” to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week.

But this isn’t the first instance of this type of dogoodery among media cohorts. It appears the tradition began with the Oklahoman, which sent the Roanoke Times a similar box after the Virginia Tech massacre. The Oklahoman staff obviously understands the stresses placed upon local publications when disaster strikes an area, having lived through the Oklahoma City bombing. Looks like the Roanoke Times is just paying it forward.

—Anna Weggel

WE CAME UP SHORT.

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So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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