January 26, 2010

Filipino Prisoners vs. Michael Jackson, Part 2

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The King of Pop is gone, but the Filipino prisoners who became an online hit with their faithful recreation of his “Thriller” video are back. Michael Jackson was reportedly a fan of the Cebu Provincial Detention And Rehabilitation Center dancers, and now his choreographer has taught them the routines from his posthumous concert flick, This Is It. It’s pretty slick, but not real exciting unless you like giant human peace symbols made up of guys half-assedly fist pumping. Compared with the exuberant original, the thrill is gone.

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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.

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