Newsdesk.org: Annual Fund Drive Week Two

[nymhm at lists.artsandmedia.net]

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           Newsdesk.org 2006 Fund Drive
           Funds raised so far: $275  //   Goal:  $2,000
           People on list:   1,697    //   Weeks left:  2

           Donate online: http://artsandmedia.net/contributions/

           * Full details on making a tax-deductible
              donation are at the end of this email. *
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December 12, 2006

Dear Friends of Newsdesk.org;

Thanks to the five people who've donated so far! Newsdesk.org's 2006 
fund drive enters its second week today, and we urgently need your 
support.

This week: The Project for Excellence in Journalism's State of the 
News Media 2006 reports that many of the news industry's biggest 
declines continue unabated. In general, they found that:

      -- More news outlets cover fewer stories
      -- Profit has trumped public service in many traditional newsrooms
      -- News media ownership is still consolidating

GOOD NEWS: JOURNALISTS AT WORK
Amidst all the gloom and doom, the State of the News Media did, in 
fact, include some very good news.

"The fight on behalf of the public interest," they write, "will come 
from the rank and file of the newsroom."

That's the heart and soul of our entire effort. We at Newsdesk.org 
are reporters, editors and news producers, and we have a job to do. 
If existing commercial newsrooms have the wrong priorities, we'll 
take matters into our own hands: 

      -- More news outlets are covering fewer stories,
       but Newsdesk.org has been publishing and promoting
       important but overlooked news for seven years. 
      
      -- Commercial newsrooms seek high profits to satisfy
       Wall Street, while Newsdesk.org seeks sustainability
       and fair wages for working journalists.
      
      -- News media ownership is consolidating, but Newsdesk.org
       wants to help build a diverse network of independent,
       commercial-free local news bureaus.

BIG CHANGES
These are big aspirations, and making good on them has not been easy.

But we've learned from the challenges, and in 2007 we're gearing up 
for some big changes that will help us serve you more effectively, 
and even expand our coverage.

Your donations of $25, $50, $100, $500 or more will help us make keep 
Newsdesk.org alive and growing in 2007 and beyond. Details on how to 
make a tax-deductible donation are at the end of this email -- or 
just click through to our secure online donor page:

      Newsdesk.org Donor Page
      http://artsandmedia.net/contributions/

All donations are handled by our sponsor, Independent Arts & Media, a 
nonprofit group that advances public dialogue by increasing access to 
independent voices.

We'll be back next week with one final message for you, and then wrap 
our 2006 season and gear up for the new year.

Thanks so much for your support of nonprofit, commercial-free journalism!

Sincerely,

Josh, Julia, Scott, David, Michael, Virgil
... and the whole Newsdesk.org team

p.s. See below for a summary and direct link to the Project for 
Excellence in Journalism study.  

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Excerpts from: "State of the News Media 2006"
By the Project for Excellence in Journalism

http://tinyurl.com/ycjzv7
http://stateofthenewsmedia.org/2006/

* SUMMARY OF FINDINGS *

      -- A PARADOX: MORE OUTLETS COVER FEWER STORIES
       "Big stories ... are often covered in a similar fashion
       by general-assignment reporters working with a limited
       list of sources and a tight time-frame. [This], in turn,
       has aided the efforts of newsmakers to control what
       the public knows. One of the first things to happen is
       that the authorities quickly corral the growing throng
       of correspondents, crews and paparazzi into press areas
       away from the news. One of the reasons coverage of
       Katrina stood out to Americans in 2005 was officials
       were unable to do that ... [T]he public -- and the
       government -- were learning from journalists who were
       discovering things for themselves."

      -- IDEALISM LOSES
       "At many old-media companies, though not all, the
       decades-long battle at the top between idealists and
       accountants is now over. The idealists have lost. 'If
       you argue about public trust today, you will be
       dismissed as an obstructionist and a romantic,' one
       newspaper editor told us privately. An executive at
       one of the three broadcast networks told senior staff
       members in a meeting last year that 'the ethical anvil
       has been lifted,' meaning the producers could dispense
       with traditional notions of journalistic propriety."

      -- NEWS INVESTMENT DECLINES
       "Over the long term ... news media have appeared to
       reduce the resources devoted to original newsgathering --
       reporters, producers, editors, correspondents, boots
       on the ground."


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HERE'S HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT NEWSDESK.ORG IN 2007

       Newsdesk.org 2006 Fund Drive
       Funds raised so far: $275  //   Goal:  $2,000
       People on List:  1,697     //   Weeks left:  2

       Recommended donations: $25, $50, $100, $500 or more.

       Donate online: http://artsandmedia.net/contributions/

       Snail Mail (checks only!): Independent Arts & Media
       PMB 821 * 601 Van Ness Ave., Ste. E * SF, CA 94102

       * All donations are tax-deductible. *
       * Thank you for your generous support! *
      
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