The Intercept - If we fall short …

This is an unusual message, but the circumstances facing independent journalism have become so dire that I’m hoping you’ll take the time to read the whole thing.

To be brutally honest, the news industry is in big, big trouble. Readership is down, news fatigue is up, and Big Tech is throttling web traffic. It’s no wonder outlets keep closing down or laying off reporters.

That’s not just a problem for journalists’ careers. It’s an existential crisis for democracy, a system of government that depends on a strong, free press.

Most outlets can no longer afford to invest in investigative projects that challenge the powerful. Just look what happened when The Intercept published a story examining Erik Prince’s business activities: We spent $200,000 fighting off his defamation lawsuit.

But as The Intercept’s editor-in-chief, I see real reasons for hope, starting with the incredible team in this newsroom: some of the most talented, hard-working, and fearless reporters, doing journalism that other shops don’t have the courage or expertise to touch.

And critically, over the last year we’ve actually seen a meaningful increase in the number of readers donating to make that journalism possible — at a time when other outlets’ revenues are declining.

Again, I’m not going to spin you. If people don’t pay for journalism, it’s going to die. And if The Intercept doesn’t meet our year-end fundraising targets, then we’re going to have to cut back on our plans for next year.

Cuts always mean less reporting and fewer readers, and the death spiral continues. Unless we stop it right here, right now.

So. This is it. If you believe in hard-hitting adversarial investigative journalism and want The Intercept to stay on the beat, then we need you to chip in whatever you can. Whether it’s $5, $20, $100 — every dollar counts, and we simply won’t make it without you.

Thank you,