Jack, it has been a frickin' brutal year for those in the news media.

As Slate put it, it doesn't matter if you were an "upstart, legacy, online-only, print, audio, video, niche, general-interest, award-winning, bottom-barrel, for-profit, nonprofit, public, private—almost no type of publication was spared some kind of cost-cutting during this mediapocalypse"—this includes Daily Kos.

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The problem is that almost every single news outlet relies on advertising revenue to cover their expenses. Unfortunately, Big Tech like Facebook, Google, and Amazon have taken an ever-growing share of this coveted revenue stream. On top of that, many businesses are spending less of their budgets on advertising—leading to decreased demand and pricing.

As a result of this lost revenue, many news outlets have had to cut expenses that often come at the cost of quality content or accessibility. Some outlets like NPR, the Washington Post, or Vox have laid off staff. The yellow-bound institutional magazine, National Geographic, will stop print. Vice Media filed for bankruptcy and BuzzFeed News shut down altogether. Others like the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast, and the Atlantic have paywalls. The only news outlet that has not only survived, but actually turned a profit is the New York Times because of their vast and expensive subscriptions that includes their cooking app, crosswords, and other games like Wordle.

There is a big downside to this: This leaves far too many people without meaningful information about their own communities, government, and political leaders. 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."

For years now, Daily Kos has relied on donations of just a few dollars from our readers and activists to help us make ends meet—not a paywall or billionaire backer. Today, those grassroots donations are our largest source of income to help us pay the bills.

Honestly, we prefer it this way because it makes us accountable to you. We know that in order to keep operating, we have to fight and deliver for what you believe in.

As we head into the critical 2024 election season, we cannot have our news outlets hallowed out, controlled by corporations, or only accessible to those that can afford for content. That's why I am asking you to support progressive, independent news like Daily Kos with a donation of $5 or any amount that is meaningful to you.

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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.