"This committee does not need Mother Jones"

I had better back it up. MoJo Reader, There are two things to go into today. One is predictable, so I'll get that out of the way first: Our December pledge drive ends in three days, we have about $100,000 to go to reach our stretch goal, and I hope you'll [help us get there with a tax-deductible, year-end gift today](—whatever you can afford, $5 or $50, makes a difference. Now the less obvious thing to follow that up with: What we're trying to do here is about way more than MoJo and our budget. It's become painfully clear that the economic threats to journalism, combined with the political assaults on the press (and the notion of truth itself), are threatening the survival of investigative reporting as we know it. But I believe with every fiber that there is a way to save it—and that it involves the kind of community that readers like you are building here at Mother Jones. I also know that if I'm going to say that, I had better back it up. The "economic collapse" part is pretty straightforward: digital advertising pays fractions of a penny and incentivizes cheap, sensational content—the kind that made the 2016 election such a media debacle. (Here's more about the layoffs that rocked newsrooms [earlier this month](—just the latest of [so many](.) It's only because of [support from our readers that Mother Jones has been able to avoid this kind of retrenchment](. Because reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, we're able to give our reporters the time and support they need to dive deep on stories that matter. As for the political assaults, be they screams of "FAKE NEWS," personal invectives, or even the assault and arrest of journalists, these attacks are designed to cast the media—and anyone daring to investigate—as "the enemy of the people," in Steve Bannon's words from earlier this year. They seek to convince Americans that there is no such thing as an independent accounting of facts, and that everyone is driven by the same kind of mercenary partisanship and petty vendettas that motivate President Donald Trump and his allies. Because doing so makes it easier to lie and deceive: There is now a portion of American political leadership that has moved from spin and manipulation to actual disinformation—taken straight from the Kremlin's playbook. (More on that [here](.) But there's a more complex part to the argument on how your [support of Mother Jones]( can push back against these attacks. To be sure, digging up the truth and getting it to as many people as possible is important. But every once in a while, that's not enough. And that's where journalism often fails. Too much of the time, even now, much of the press defaults to the "he said, she said" model of reporting, stipulating that the truth must be somewhere in the middle. But while that can be a helpful crutch, it can also be dangerous at a time like this. Right now, what we need is journalism that doesn't pussyfoot around and dares to call a lie a lie. We need to get beyond the conventional way of doing things, because what we're reporting on is not conventional. That's why a Democratic congressman was compelled to enter a Mother Jones article, "[3 Times Jeff Sessions Made False Statements to Congress Under Oath](," into the congressional record recently, when Sessions was before his committee. And when a Republican objected, "This committee does not need Mother Jones to inaccurately describe or depict or tell us what happened " it was a perfect illustration of how undermining independent reporting has become the default among some of our leaders. [Support from readers is what lets Mother Jones call a spade a spade](. We're not bridled by owners or advertisers who are looking to avoid controversy and make money. Instead, we are accountable to you. Some 240,000 readers support our journalism because you want it to have an impact and expect us to call it like it is. Which brings me back to the $100,000 we still need to raise in the next three days. If we can hit our stretch goal of $350,000—and we can, because December usually ends with a [flood of last-minute donations](—that will be really powerful. That total is about what we raised last year, when support for a lot of causes—including journalism—shot up. If we can match that now, it tells me that our readers are not about to let up on the forces of deception and authoritarianism. Mother Jones is in it for the long haul—and with you on our side, we have a real chance to build a sustainable model for the hard-hitting, in-depth reporting our democracy needs for years to come. I hope you'll [join us with a tax-deductible donation of even just $5 today to help us reach our goal and finish 2017 with a strong show of support for independent journalism](. Thanks for reading, and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Whether or not you're able to pitch in, I'm thankful you're with us. Monika Bauerlein, Chief Executive Officer Mother Jones P.S. If you've donated in the last several hours, thanks—and please accept our apologies for sending you this friendly reminder. [DONATE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To stop receiving Mother Jones' fundraising and subscription emails, or manage your preferences for our emails, click [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [www.MotherJones.com]() 222 Sutter Street, #600 San Francisco, CA USA 94108