Thoughtful, carefully researched news is not free to produce

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Dear Reader,
I hope you're in the middle of a restful winter break. I wanted to make sure you saw this note I sent a few weeks ago. Not everyone liked it. Several people wrote back to say they could not afford to give or they felt we should not be asking for money.

First, if you can not afford to give this holiday season, please think no more of it! Our mission is to provide in-depth education news for free to all who need it. We ask only those who can afford it to pitch in so that everyone who needs it can benefit.

And look, if we could run a nonprofit newsroom without asking for money, we would. I'm a journalist. I want to be visiting schools, meeting teachers, interviewing students and haggling over comma placement with my editors -- not asking you for money.

And yet, we need that money to do the work I love so dearly. It's not free to staff a top-notch, award-winning news organization known for producing some of the most nuanced and thoughtful education news in the country. And we still need to raise $10,000 to reach our end-of-year target.

So, I must ask: Can you help?

Yes, I can give today. ([link removed])
Thank you,
Lillian Mongeau
Membership Manager

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From: Lillian
Date: December 12, 2019
Subject: I hate to break it to you, but...

Dear Reader,

We know you like free things. We like free things, too. Sadly, the news ain’t free.

Sure, it’s free to read. We’re a nonprofit and our mission is to get as much high-quality education news out into the world as we can. We are careful, thoughtful and purposeful in our work. No click bait here. We want everyone to have access to the information our reporters gather. We know it’s critical to a functioning democracy.

But the news is not free to produce. We must pay for reporting supplies (laptops, pens and those funny long notebooks) as well as journalists’ salaries, public records fees, travel costs (to meet teachers and students across the country) and more.

You’ve been reading Hechinger for free, but if you can, now is the time to pay up. Any amount makes a difference and whatever you give today will be doubled.
I'll pay for the news I read. ([link removed])

Any donation you make today will be matched by the generous folks at NewsMatch, a campaign to support nonprofit news. And if you agree to support us with a monthly donation, every one of your next 12 donations will be matched.

Thanks,
Lillian Mongeau
Membership Manager
The Hechinger Report

If you'd prefer to mail a check, please make it payable to "Hechinger Institute, Teachers College" and send it to:

The Hechinger Report
attn: Matt Bruderle
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 650
New York, NY 10115

If you are already a current member and received this message in error, we apologize. Please let us know by replying to this email.

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