Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LAist Is Facing A Financial Crisis. We Need Your Help
(Photo by Regine Tholen on Unsplash)
()
Hi, everybody -- it's Lisa Brenner, LAist Associate Editor. I'm writing to you live and direct from the newsroom (which is less of a physical location and more of a state-of-mind these days). We have a situation.
For weeks and weeks -- which have felt like years and years -- we've been working at a supersonic pace to bring you fresh, accurate, critical reporting about the coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles. You've asked us thousands of questions and we found you answers with the help of professionals across many fields and disciplines.
We want to keep doing this.
We are committed to being your long-term guide to figuring out how to confront this crisis and our recovery from it. But we can only do it with your help. These are extreme times and for LAist to survive them, we need you to donate.
Support for LAist comes from
Newsrooms are being devastated by layoffs and furloughs, at a time when their work has never been more essential.
We are still here -- for now -- but we are threatened by the same loss of revenue that has devastated other media outlets. Please, right now, support our vital, local, nonprofit journalism with a donation. LAist could disappear without your support.
Right now, Southern California needs more journalism, not less, but our fiscal health is challenged. We're now bracing for an expected 25% drop in our revenue -- a terrifying forecast for our mission-driven newsroom. If you can help us close the gap, now is the time to do it.
Since the world exploded, my main focus has been to create and maintain our definitive local guide about the coronavirus crisis. I have done almost nothing else (including eating, sleeping and going outside). All day, every day I edit, write, add, subtract, structure, frame, update, update, update, update and update (and update) our monster 15,000+ word resource:
It has everything: scary maps, how to get tested, help with applying for unemployment, a list of things your landlord can't do, resources for free food, details about where you are/aren't allowed to go, loan options, science!, a timeline of events, what officials say, how to make a DIY mask, news on schools and hospitals and courtrooms, where you can still get parking tickets, what to do if your neighbor is throwing parties, and that's just the beginning. It's a reflection of the reporting from every corner of our (virtual) newsroom, and beyond.
And you will never hit a paywall trying to access it. LAist's content is free for everyone.
Support for LAist comes from
This guide has been read nearly 400,000 times since we first published on Jan. 28. We could save a bunch of jobs if everyone who read it rose to the challenge and donated.
Thank you for trusting LAist to help you navigate these weird and worrisome days. And thank you for donating. Your partnership is crucial and deeply appreciated. I'd totally hug you if it wasn't totally against the rules.
OK, I have to get back to updating the guide.
Thank you,
Lisa Brenner
Associate Editor, LAist
For a $20 a month donation, this P-22 hoodie could be yours. Donate today
()
P.S. when you donate today, your money will be matched, your impact will be doubled, you get twice the oomph for your dollars. Tell your friends.
Support for LAist comes from
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist