Friend,

Free Press is celebrating its 20th anniversary — and a big part of that is reflecting back on two decades of wins over foes like AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Sinclair and Verizon.

Of course, Free Press’ history isn’t just about defeating villains. It’s also about reimagining what’s possible — and making it happen.

In a minute, I want to highlight three victories we’re really proud of. But first, I have to ask: Will you make your first donation of $20 or any amount to Free Press? Your gift will go twice as far toward our $50,000 year-end goal: A generous donor is matching all gifts dollar for dollar through the end of the year. Grassroots contributions from people like you fuel our work every day.

Net Neutrality: From the beginning, we’ve pushed the Federal Communications Commission to adopt Net Neutrality rules based in Title II of the Communications Act. And it was a sweet moment when the agency voted in February 2015 to approve Title II Net Neutrality rules, due in large part to Free Press’ work in mobilizing millions of people across the country to speak up for an open internet.

The Trump FCC overturned these rules in 2017, but we put up a huge fight, organizing hundreds of protests nationwide. Now, we have a real opportunity for the FCC to reinstate Title II — and we’re going to mobilize the biggest campaign possible to make it happen.

Passing the Civic Info Bill — and transforming local news: Local journalism is evaporating, and the situation has been especially dire in New Jersey. Free Press has been organizing in the state since 2015 via our News Voices local-journalism project, and we’ve seen the impacts of this crisis up close.

In 2017, we launched a campaign urging the statehouse to create a publicly funded nonprofit to give people the news and information they need. In 2018, the governor signed the Civic Info Bill into law, creating a nonprofit that has awarded grants to some 30 organizations focusing on diversifying journalism, improving government transparency, providing community-health news and better serving communities of color and immigrant communities. Imagine the potential this same model has to bring more local coverage to every corner of the country.

Fighting for media reparations: In 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the Black caucus at Free Press launched the Media 2070 project, releasing a visionary 100-page essay that documents how the media have harmed Black communities for centuries — a piece The Columbia Journalism Review named one of the top-10 pieces of racial-justice coverage of 2020.

Over the course of three years, Media 2070 has fought for media reparations to repair these harms — and has also uplifted Black joy and resistance. From co-hosting a two-day conference on race, racism and American media to debuting its first-ever college course to releasing the award-winning documentary Black in the Newsroom, the project is making a massive impact.

These are just a few standout moments from the last two decades, and your support is critical in helping power more. Take advantage of our matching-gift offer and make your first donation to Free Press to fuel our next 20 years.

Thank you for everything you do to power our work forward,

Candace and all of us at Free Press
freepress.net

P.S. For 20 years, Free Press hasn't taken a cent from business, government or political parties — our independence is too important. Make a donation today that goes 2x as far to power our next year — and next two decades — of big wins.