Would you pay 20¢ a day to make sure independent journalism survives? Then you should.
I don’t generally refer to myself as a journalist. That said, there have been times when we have engaged in some dead serious journalism here at Eclectablog. During a time when commentators around the country were justifying and excusing the anti-democratic power grab known as Emergency Management in Michigan, we were raising the clarion call (in over 170 posts) about just how outrageous and un-American it was. Months later, Rachel Maddow was calling it “THE most radical Republican experiment in the 21st Century” and talking about it like this:
I still believe the story of Michigan’s Emergency Manager law — of what’s being done to democracy in the name of fixing Detroit and Flint and Pontiac and Inkster and Benton Harbor — I still believe that this could be the most important and under-covered story of the year. I know my colleague Ed Schultz feels the same way.
It’s because along with the national story of Republican legislators making it harder to vote in this country, Republican lawmakers in Michigan have declared that your local vote could be rendered moot if your town falls on hard enough times.
When Gov. Snyder started a special school district for “failing” schools in Detroit called the Education Achievement Authority and attempted to “fix” Detroit schools on the cheap using laptop computers, an inoperable computer program, and teachers with little to no experience in the classroom, Eclectablog was there to pull back the curtain. After nearly two dozen interviews with teachers and administrators and literally 140 posts, instead of being expanded statewide – something Republicans desperately wanted – the EAA is soon to be a thing of the past, consigned to the rubbish bin of education history where it belongs.
And no other site, combined with our podcast and Twitter feed, has kept the story of the poisoning of Flint, Michigan’s drinking water with the powerful neurotoxin lead by Gov. Snyder’s appointed Emergency Managers as front and center as Eclectablog. Period.
To be blunt, Eclectablog is a valuable and important journalistic resource.
But, we need your help. None of this comes free and I’m not a wealthy guy who can dabble in this as a hobby, paying our group of incredible writers from my personal bank account. Quite the opposite, in fact.
For a mere 20¢ a day – $73 a year – you can make a profound difference.
If you are able to help support us financially, we would be most grateful. There are two ways to help. First, you can use the handy PayPal forms at the top of the right sidebar to make a one-time donation via Paypal in the amount of your choice or to set up a monthly donation. Second, you can send a check (which avoids Paypal taking out a percentage of your donation) to Chris Savage, P.O. Box 32, Dexter, MI 48130. Please make the check payable to “Eclectablog”.
Alternatively, consider becoming a sponsor of our upcoming annual fundraising party (and live recording of the podcast!) You can learn more about how to do that HERE. This option is available to both individuals and organizations.
Your support of Eclectablog is an important way to support independent journalism and to ensure our continued growth and impact.
Thanks for being part of our community.
