Congratulations! And a few big updates.

Plus, some questions you can help with.   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, It’s been a while since we sent a catchall update like this to you, and wow, has there been a lot going on that’s worth bringing the MoJo community up to speed on. It’s also worth foregrounding this part: Keeping you looped into our big projects and priorities is important to us, because a newsroom is [literally nothing]( without an engaged audience these days. Thank you for sticking with us and for caring about journalism and democracy. Today, we have more on our merger with the Center for Investigative Reporting that became official last month, some great honors and awards to share with you, and a question that you could really help us out with. But we have to start with the election. This can’t really be happening, can it? The unbelievable possibility of another Trump term is terrifying for [lots]( [of]( [reasons]( we won’t [go into](, but it’s the reality we face. How are you feeling about it? That’s not a rhetorical question: The next eight months are going to be intense and we’d really like to know [where you’re at, and what matters most]( to the MoJo community going into it. As for us: Our election coverage starts with acknowledging the generational [attack on democracy]( we’re living through, and [rejecting]( the insidious view from nowhere and false equivalency that helped get us here in the first place. This is not politics as usual. [This is not fine](, as David Corn puts in. One of the big projects our team is already hard at work on is a series of deep dives on voting rights, how minority rule is the story behind the headlines, and, importantly, what can be done to fight back and protect the right to vote and have representation. Another reporting package is about third parties: looking back at candidates and campaigns throughout history, looking hard at third parties—and [who’s behind them](—right now. These stories aren’t going to be told as factually and forcefully as they need to be, if at all, by most of the big national media right now. They will be by Mother Jones. We’ll also be focusing on the Supreme Court and the huge decisions, past and present, that are shaping the race and could affect the outcome—Citizens United, Bush v. Gore, and how the fight for reproductive rights makes this election different. We’ll be looking at Trump world characters, and soon we’ll be figuring out which places we can send reporters to because boots on the ground matter. What do you think? [Please let us know how you’re feeling about the election and how we can make the biggest impact](. Your perspectives truly are invaluable as we figure it all out. Which brings us to our merger with the Center for Investigative Reporting! If you pay attention to these emails, you’ve probably seen that we joined forces. If you hadn’t, there’s more [here]( and [here](. A quick summary: Like Mother Jones, CIR has been doing nonprofit investigative journalism since the late ‘70s. We were both founded by journalists who wanted to do things differently, with missions to do in-depth journalism that others weren’t, and that can bring about accountability and change. CIR is best known for the [Reveal]( podcast and radio show, hosted by Al Letson, and heard coast-to-coast on 500-plus public radio stations. We’re also super excited about the work of [CIR Studios](—where hard-hitting, mission-driven journalism is paired with cinematic storytelling to produce feature films and series. You can check out Netflix (which isn’t something we’ve said before talking about our work!) to see it in action: [Victim/Suspect]( investigates a disturbing pattern of police bullying, and ultimately charging, young women who report sexual assault. It was the most-watched documentary on Netflix, and in the top 10 movies overall, the week it was released last May. And it wasjust announced]( that the next big project, [The Grab](, will debut in theaters and video on demand on June 14. More on that soon! It's truly awesome that Mother Jones and CIR are now officially operating as one team–and there’s going to be more to say about it all in the months and years ahead. Finally, those impressive awards to share with you—and a lot of gratitude. The premise of joining forces with CIR was that an investigative podcast and radio program, the only one like it, along with widely distributed documentary film projects, [complements]( our daily coverage, digital and social audience, and print magazine so damn well. Our vision is to get people who are hungry for trustworthy journalism—so endangered right now—the information they need. Whether someone scrolls through TikTok, turns on the radio in their car, watches TV, or clicks on a website, we need to be there for them. Awards and nominations are impressive and worth celebrating on their own, but these also show exactly how that kind of multiplatform presence works in practice, across our team’s strengths and our organization’s legacies. - The George Polk Awards, one of the most respected in the field, selected Reveal’s “[We Regret to Inform You](” episode from last fall in their justice category. It was an explosive story about police officers digging for dirt from family members before telling them that law enforcement had killed their loved one. - Mother Jones is a finalist in three categories for the American Society of Magazine Editors annual awards, which are our industry’s Oscars. [We’re up for General Excellence, Video, and Essay categories](. - And creator-in-residence Garrison Hayes, who was nominated for the above, [racked up more hardware]( from the Anthem Awards—an offshoot of the Webby Awards to celebrate purpose- and mission-driven work. A popular TikTok and Instagram personality, Garrison officially joined our team this year to help make sure we reach the young audiences who prefer these platforms. He and the team are forging an awesome new direction for our explanatory and investigative reporting. These awards are as much yours as they are ours, and this organization is as much yours as it is ours, because we are [literally nothing]( without support (financial, emotional, or otherwise) from our community of readers, listeners, and viewers. Thank you. It can be awfully grim in the news business, and in politics, right now that’s for sure. But it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the positive out there—and try to nurture it. To that end, Brett Myers, one of the interim executive producers of Reveal, said it beautifully during our first all-hands meeting last month: We’re lucky to be doing this type of work right now—reporting that matters, And we’re so glad you’re with us. Please do let us know [how you’re feeling about the election and our coverage]( as we enter this exciting, but also kind of scary, new chapter with so much on the line. Thanks for reading, Monika Bauerlein CEO Brian Hiatt Online Membership Director [Donate](   [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755