Keep the news coming — there’s no free lunch and no free news

Keep the news coming — there’s no free lunch and no free news

By Len Lazarick

Editor and Publisher, MarylandReporter.com

At a political event Saturday, two candidates I had never met before volunteered how much they relied on MarylandReporter.com for government coverage and how useful it was in researching political issues. It made me feel good about all those hours the staff puts in early every morning and often late at night.

Then on Monday came a letter with more encouraging words: “Your hard work is appreciated by me and many, many others who share your desire to make state and local government accessible to the people who follow your coverage of news and political developments.”

This long-time supporter backed up his words with a check for $100. That will be matched by another $100 from the News Match campaign of the Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Democracy Fund. His gift is also tax-deductible since we are recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

MarylandReporter.com doesn’t charge for any of our content, but our donors recognize that producing our daily State Roundup and original stories about what state government is doing to you and for you is not free.

What it costs

In this day of paywalls by many news organizations, we subscribe to numerous legacy newspapers. We spend several hours each morning searching for content and then edit it into a newsletter. Not just news and broadcasts sites, but blogs of the right and the left when they contain reasonable news, analysis and commentary.

We must pay Constant Contact for distribution of the newsletter, we pay Flywheel for hosting the website, we purchase libel insurance through the National Newspaper Association (unfortunately, even frivolous lawsuits cost money to get dismissed). We even pay the Maryland Secretary of State for the privilege of raising money.

Producing the daily email blast costs about $100 a day, and individual stories cost more. MarylandReporter.com relies on donations from supporters like you to keep at this work with the integrity and persistence you expect.

make a donationWill you donate now to invest in the future of  MarylandReporter.com, especially as we head into this important election year?

We’re always grateful for every donation we receive, but this year we have an incredible opportunity. Through News Match, a national campaign to support nonprofit news organizations like ours, we can receive up to $28,000 in matching funding. That means if MarylandReporter.com supporters give $28,000, we’ll raise $56,000 in total. We’re now 90% towards our goal.

This is a big deal for our publication. If you give today, News Match will match your tax-deductible donation dollar for dollar, up to $1,000.

Every contributor of $100 or more will get invited to our annual happy hour Feb. 28 at Harry Browne’s in Annapolis. Gov. Larry Hogan will be a guest bartender again, joined by a Democrat or two behind the bar. Larger contributors will also be recognized as Matchmakers at the Bronze ($250), Silver ($500) and Gold Levels ($1,000).

Please make a tax-deductible contribution by Dec. 31 so its impact will be doubled in the new year. You can do so online through our Donate button, or by sending a check to the address below.

About The Author

Len Lazarick

[email protected]

Len Lazarick was the founding editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and is currently the president of its nonprofit corporation and chairman of its board He was formerly the State House bureau chief of the daily Baltimore Examiner from its start in April 2006 to its demise in February 2009. He was a copy editor on the national desk of the Washington Post for eight years before that, and has spent decades covering Maryland politics and government.

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