[Y]esterday, New York Times columnist David Leonhardt suggested that readers forgo the Black Friday buying frenzy and donate or buy a subscription to a publication “that does great work and that needs more help than, say, The New York Times.”
Leonhardt recommended a dozen or so news organizations, based on reader feedback. Thanks to the many VTDigger readers who emailed Leonhardt, we made the top of his list of top local publications that deserve support.
Here is Leonhardt’s pitch to readers:
The Times is thriving, as I explained yesterday, but not all publications have the financial advantages we do. And some of these publications do vital work that a democracy needs. They provide local and regional coverage. Or they focus on a specific subject. Or they write about the world from a particular perspective.
Below is a list of publications I recommend that you consider. It includes some reader recommendations, too, and of course this isn’t intended to be a complete list. (Readers sent in more 1,000 recommendations this week, and I plan to check out many more than I’ve listed here.)
Local coverage. This is my No. 1 recommendation: Support a source of local journalism in your area. Research has shown that an absence of local coverage may lead to increased corruption — and local journalism is under tremendous financial strain.
One option is your traditional local newspaper. Another is newer sources. In your emails to me, you praised Vermont’s VTDigger, The Texas Tribune and the New Mexico Political Report, among many others. A third option is your local public-radio station.
Leonhardt explained in a column earlier this week that the New York Times struggles to compete for advertising with Google and Facebook, which now dominate the market.
Readers, however, have made up the difference. Subscribers now support the New York Times more than ever.
VTDigger, too, struggles to compete with Google network ads, Google ad words and Facebook for local online underwriting (nonprofit advertising).
Like the Times, our news operation is supported by readers who believe in our independent, rigorous reporting on the facts. As one reader put it, VTDigger is news “for grown-ups.”
We are grateful to the many the New York Times readers who recommended VTDigger.
We hope you’ll take Leonhardt’s pitch to heart. If you’d like to help, please support our work with a contribution to our annual fund campaign. We have $232,000 to go by Dec. 31.
Thank you for your support. We wouldn’t exist without it.
Anne Galloway
Editor, VTDigger.org
