February 9, 2008

Striking Writers Reach Tentative Deal

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mojo-photo-strike.jpgHey, TV might be coming back! Hooray, TV! Union leaders and production companies have reached a tentative deal that covers online streaming: writers get $1300 for the rights to stream a show, and then 2% of the revenue. That’s something, right? Guess it depends on who’s counting revenue. They also get residuals for downloads, and if certain thresholds are met, they get one of those fruit bouquets. Not really. The New York Times called negotiations “sometimes heated”—ya think?—and Drudge has linked to Nikki Finke’s dramatic (and endless) minute-by-minute timeline of the events this weekend. Okay, fine, but all we need to know is that Conan and Colbert and everybody have already invited their writers back, to start on Monday. Not that their efforts to waste time haven’t been amusing.

Photo: LA Times

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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