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The investigative newsroom I work for, @ProPublica, is raising money right now. We report on abuses of power in the public interest - stories like corruption on the Supreme Court. It was the first outlet to win a Pulitzer for web-first journalism. And if you donate through this link, you'll let our team know that Mastodon is an audience to pay attention to. https://give.propublica.org/give/346528/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=mstdn #journalism #fediverse #mastodon
Nothing like being told it's only my money that matters. Mastodon only matters to you if it means your "team" doesn't need to work hard to fund it.
Swallow your pride—sell some steak knives or whatever. The corruption of the Supreme Court is well and heavily covered by all your competitors. For free.
@_chris_real Hey! Our journalism is free to access. And I'm a decades-long part of the open social web movement - Mastodon is very important to me indeed. I didn't mean to offend with my framing.
We're on a funding drive because it's a non-profit (like other public media outlets). Nobody pays to read what we do.
And others may be covering it, but it was our investigation that broke the story.
You told me that your opinion of Mastodon depended on how much money they sent you. You can't squirm out of that judgement by claiming you're a non-profit—but you "really need" money.
Did you —really— "break a story" though? Or were you the first who published what was well-known, but many were struggling to make known?
Your whole "but still—Capitalism?!?" reeks of the monarchists who infest post-capitalist marketplaces. We also call them magats and fascists.
Stick to steak knives (at least it's honest), although I hear silver-infused bedsheets also do well.
Read Marcy Wheeler/emptywheel for examples of 'actual' no-one-pays journalism.
I am a musician. You've got nothing to school me with about working for free.
@_chris_real *I* didn’t do anything. But yeah, the journalists broke the story. By doggedly following it for a long time. That’s what ProPublica does: actual investigative journalism that takes a lot of resources to produce. There’s a pretty good article about what it took here. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-propublica-biggest-supreme-court-story.html
My Mastodon comment was really a flippant way of saying that I’d like Mastodon to show up in our stats.
But I seem to have got your goat,so I’d like to suggest we go our separate ways. Bye.
Of course. Troll for more money. Our ways are not separate, but our means to our ends define us.
I will match your barely adequate investigating with Marcy Wheeler's any day. Your 'breaking' claims are pretty irrelevant. The truth was there—it matters not who was first, but who made it MATTER.
You come to us with hat in hand, but suggesting that getting my goat is a discourse ender. Maybe my goat was got when you decided to monetize your virtue. I suggest you re-evaluate your 'yeah-but-ish' mentality.
Yeah, just walk away. . .
@_chris_real Ask Marcy what she thinks of this kind of journalism — she'll tell you to support it. There is nothing noble in wanting important work to not be supported, or valuable labor to go uncompensated.
Having a representative of an org with NO presence on Mastodon come here saying 'Hey, if you give us money, maybe we'll like you' is offensive to me.
But since you butted in as a third party, picking a fight by proxy, maybe you shouldn't also put words in the mouth of people you haven't consulted.
Start your OWN fights, "big fan of big fans". You seem to hide behind others.
So I won't explain my objections to you. Make a post with your own opinion, see if people will respond. I doubt if I will.
I searched emptywheel for any references to Pro Publica—nothing in the past 4 years, maybe longer.
And Pro Publica is not hurting for money.
From wikipedia:
"ProPublica was the brainchild of Herbert and Marion Sandler, the former chief executives of the Golden West Financial Corporation, who have committed $10 million a year to the project.
"The Sandlers hired Paul Steiger, former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, to create and run the organization as editor in chief."
Anyone know how much Steiger makes?
Also:
"While the Sandler Foundation provided ProPublica with significant financial support, it also has received funding from the Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Atlantic Philanthropies. ProPublica and the Knight Foundation have various connections.
"For example, Paul Steiger, executive chairman of ProPublica, is a trustee of the Knight Foundation. In like manner, Alberto Ibarguen, the president and CEO of the Knight Foundation is on the board of ProPublica. ProPublica, along with other major news outlets, received grant funding from Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
"ProPublica has attracted attention for the salaries it pays its employees. In 2008, Paul Steiger, the editor of ProPublica, received a salary of $570,000."
So I'll make a deal with you, Big Follower. You give Marcy $1000, and the next time, I'll go easier on ProPub (who really doesn't need the money—only its lower-tiered journalists do).
Will you take the challenge?