Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Thank you, thank you, thank you!  That is what I want to say to our readers and donors, who have made this–Atlanta Progressive News’s tenth year of publication–our best year to date!

 

http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/donate/

 

In just a few months, in November 2015, we will be celebrating ten years of publication.  I still remember all the naysayers, all the non-believers, the people who said it couldn’t be done.  But we have persisted, with consistency, transparency, and substantive, original news content.

 

I [APN’s News Editor and CEO] arrived in Atlanta in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina only knowing four people (Anita Beaty, Connie Curry, Cynthia McKinney, and Richard Searcy), knowing not so much about Atlanta but having a theory about the struggle between the forces of capitalism and the forces of democracy.  And at a time when online news was itself quite new.

 

Since then, I have witnessed the disappearance and downsizing of most of our competitors, with veteran journalists retiring one by one.  I never thought, in just ten years, Atlanta Progressive News would be able to offer our readers some of the most extensive institutional and historical knowledge about Metro Atlanta and Georgia politics, basically because of me, having served nearly ten years, and Senior Staff Writer Gloria Tatum, who has been with us six years.  That’s sixteen years of institutional knowledge.  I never thought we at APN would be one of the last ones standing.

 

We have been growing at a time when other news organizations have been shrinking, and it’s all because of the support of our readers.

 

So, we thank you for understanding the importance of our work, and for appreciating our mission: which is, to empower our readers with meaningful information to make a difference in the democratic process.

 

http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/donate/

 

I understood the importance of news and civic knowledge in promoting and enhancing local democracy, when I launched APN in 2005, at the age of 24.  There were a lot of things I could have done after finishing graduate school with all my copious student loans.  Starting a news organization from scratch is not exactly what Sallie Mae had in mind for me.  But now I look back at the age of 34 and marvel at the institution I created and the hundreds of Metro Atlantans who have contributed in some way.  I feel that together we made a great investment in local democracy, and I hope that you do too!

 

As part of our Five Year Plan for growth, and to become a more viable and self-sustaining news organization, we have set fundraising targets that will slowly and steadily increase over the next few years.

 

This year, our goal is 5,000 dollars.  To date, we have raised 2,331 dollars, with 2,669 left to go.  At this point in the year–the midway point will be tonight at midnight–we should have raised 2,500 dollars, to be halfway to our goal.

 

Thus, we would like to bring in 169 dollars by midnight!  That would be great!

 

http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/donate/

 

Also, there is a new program we have, where we’re trying to get 83 people to set up a five dollar monthly recurring donation.  If we can get 76 more people to do this, we would raise 5,000 dollars per year just with monthly recurring donations alone!

 

I’ve got to tell you, it’s really great knowing that every month, we are going to have seven donations come in like clockwork.  If you can possibly sign up, we’re considering it a voluntary subscription, kind of like a progressive news endowment.

 

This year, we have continued our excellent coverage:

 

• Our coverage of the Georgia Legislative Session was quite extensive.  We covered many important hearings, bills, and votes.  The list of articles and blog posts from the Session spans a page and a half, single-spaced!

 

• Our coverage of Special Elections, especially House District 55, was unmatched.  We provided in-depth questionnaires of almost all candidates; we covered candidate debates; and the races in general.

 

• We cover progressive activism in the streets like no other, because of our deep connections to the progressive community.

 

• At the same time, we cover issues of government and public policy.  From the streets to the courthouse to City Hall and back again.

 

• We brought you on-point legal analyses of several cases, including the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless litigation.  Now that I’m a third year law student, our readers get the added benefit of more informed and nuanced legal reporting.

 

• We are also increasing our publication of short form blog posts, and have a new type of blog called What We’re Reading, where we aggregate links to information in other local, national, and even international news sources.

 

And, have you seen our homepage lately, especially the new header?  Progressive photographer Gary Cameron did a great job on the new cityscape header, and consultant Conrad Schissler modified the photo so it looks perfect on cell phones and laptops!  The re-design has been an amazing success, and we still are working on going back through our archive of 2,262 news articles, blog posts, and other items, to add tags and categories.  .

 

Our Facebook page following has surpassed 10,000 Likes, currently at 10,049.  Our e-newsletter now goes out to approximately 18,500 people.

 

All that to say that our audience is growing, we are making meaningful investments to support our long-term viability, all with your help.

 

So, please help us continue our work with a timely donation today!  Let us know if you have any questions.  Thank you!

 

http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/donate/

 

Yours truly,

Matthew Charles Cardinale, News Editor, CEO