Jack, more and more news outlets are using paywalls or subscriptions to offset their decreasing revenue and cover their operating costs.

There is a big downside to this: That only those wealthy enough to pay for it have access to the news. This leaves far too many people without meaningful information about their own communities, government, and political leaders.

Our democracy depends on an independent press educating and informing voters.

That's why, despite Daily Kos' financial difficulties, we refuse to charge people to access our content. We believe that in order to fight for our democracy, everyone needs to have free access to the news.

Daily Kos is the country's largest progressive and independent news and activism hub. With your support, we can continue to make Daily Kos accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Please donate $5 or whatever amount is meaningful to you.

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Thank you for all you do,
Amanda McKay, Daily Kos

Jack, it's getting harder and harder to get past paywalls to access news content. As Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication puts it: "Obviously, long-term, this is going to have tremendously negative civic effects… We're already experiencing those effects."

With your support, we can continue to make Daily Kos accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Please donate $5 or whatever amount is meaningful to you.

DONATE
News media outlets once solely relied on advertising revenue to cover operating expenses; Daily Kos surely did. Unfortunately, advertising revenue has been dwindling and expenses have increased. Many news media outlets turned to paywalls and subscriptions to make up that lost revenue.

However, this means that only those who are fortunate enough to afford it, can access the news.

Like so many other news outlets, Daily Kos has struggled with an ever shrinking advertising revenue. Unfortunately, we don't see this trend changing anytime soon. With the uncertainty of the economy, many companies are cutting back on their advertising budgets, and advertisers are paying less for people to see their ads. This all adds up to less revenue to cover our expenses and bills.

That being said, we refuse to make up that lost revenue by implementing a paywall. We believe strongly that everyone should have access to the news and our content, regardless of their ability to pay.

Instead, Daily Kos relies on grassroots donations from tens of thousands of our readers and activists to cover our operating expenses. To be honest, we prefer it—it makes us accountable to you, our community, not a handful of wealthy donors or corporate sponsors.

Please help keep Daily Kos the country's largest independent news and progressive activism hub that is accessible to everyone. Donate $5 or more today.

DONATE
Thank you for all you do,
Amanda McKay, Daily Kos

If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible.