Jack, I wanted to share with you something Daily Kos founder Markos Moutlitsas said recently in one of company's Slack channels:

With a decline in advertising revenue, Daily Kos has been struggling to make ends meet. We have relied more and more on donations from our community to cover our expenses. We need to raise $76,789 in a matter of days. Please support Daily Kos with a donation of $5 or whatever amount is meaningful to you.

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There is a lot to unpack with everything Markos says in just these few lines. News outlets have been financially pummeled, from multiple directions, over the past decade or so:

Facing an uncertain economic future many businesses have slashed their digital advertising budgets.
Social media platforms, in particular Facebook, have made it harder for news outlets to connect with their audiences on their platforms, resulting in fewer viewers engaging with digital news content.
The result is advertisers are paying less for people to see their ads, which means dwindling advertising revenue to help meet budget needs.

As Markos says, "It's tough out there for anyone depending on advertising dollars." This is why news outlets like Buzzfeed News and Jezebel shut down completely and why there have been tens of thousands news media layoffs, a record, just this year.

However, the last thing Markos says "without our community, we'd be toast" is the biggest take away. Our largest source of income are small donations from our readers and activists. We wouldn't have survived this year without the ongoing support from our community.

That's why I am writing to you today, Jack: It is vital that we reach our monthly fundraising goals so we can continue to produce the high quality content and actions you expect from us. Please make a donation to Daily Kos today.

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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.