Jack, as Michael mentions in his email below; the news media is in trouble.

Over the last decade, news media outlets have been hemorrhaging jobs while social media networks continue to grow. Effectively, we have been trading journalists, editors and fact checkers for fake news, conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Thousands of media jobs have been lost every year for the past decade, with the peak happening during the COVID-19 pandemic when an estimated 30,000 people laid off, furloughed or saw salaries cut. Even though the layoffs have subsided, many of those jobs have not returned.

Daily Kos survived not because we have billionaire backers or a robust advertising strategy; we have survived because we have you, Jack, and thousands of other supporters that give a few bucks at a time to help us do the work we do every day.

That's why I am asking if you can help us out. We need to raise just another $4,181 by the end of the month. Can you give $5 right now to help us meet our goal?

Thanks for all you do,
Amanda McKay, Daily Kos

Jack, Daily Kos is $22,042 away from our monthly goal. Can you chip in $5 now to help us close the books on July?

The news media is in trouble. It doesn't matter if it's print or digital, big outlets or independent publishers, local or national—they all have one thing in common: They're struggling.

Thousands of news media jobs have been shed, every single year, for over a decade now. That's thousands of reporters, fact-checkers, and editors who've lost their jobs. What's replacing them? Fake news, propaganda, and conspiracy theories spread on ever-growing social media networks that continue to eat up a larger percentage of the digital ad market that once went to support actual journalism.

Daily Kos has survived the ongoing collapse of the news media because we're different. We don't rely on big ad spending from major corporations or billionaire backers to make ends meet. Our biggest source of income is readers and activists like you each chipping in a few bucks at a time.

We like it that way because it keeps us accountable to you. But it does mean we need to ask for your support to meet our goals.

Please, if you haven't already, take a minute to chip in $5 to help us meet our July goal.

Thank you,
Michael Langenmayr, 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. (Please note that we may be slow to process checks during the coronavirus outbreak.)