Today is #givingtuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday. A day to give to non-profits and news organizations the vital funds that they need to survive. Today, I ask you to give to The River Reporter.

All donations are tax-deductible. Your donation will help us continue to provide local news that empowers and informs our rural communities. Please go to https://givebutter.com/theriverreporter to make a donation. 

In this time of disruption, access to local news is paramount to community survival and resilience.

Even before the pandemic and the shutdown of the business community, the newspaper model that paid advertisements will pay for the distribution of local news has been failing. As more and more people shop online, it is unreasonable to assume that small business advertisers can fund a local paper’s existence.

Across the nation, newspapers have been ceasing to publish, or severely cutting their newsroom personnel.

And while one could take a cavalier attitude that newspapers will go the way of rotary phones or encyclopedias, research data shows that when local newspapers cease to publish, the community suffers. Civic engagement, civil dialogue and even candidates running for office diminish.

We have been fortunate at The River Reporter to have a consistent base of local businesses and readers who have supported the paper. We pride ourselves with our low advertising rates and flexible policies that allow us to open the pages of the paper to the smallest of advertising budgets.

We do this to support local business and as a service to our readers. Local news and access to consumer information that is equitably distributed are central to our democracy.

These days, however, we need additional support.

So on this #givingnews day, we ask you to donate to our Local COVID News Fund. All donations are tax-deductible. Your donation will help us continue to provide you with local news that empowers and informs our rural communities. Please go to https://givebutter.com/theriverreporter to make a donation.

We welcome and appreciate all donations, big and small. Our work has never been as important as it is today. Help us tell the stories of our community and amplify the voice of the people and the needs of rural communities throughout the region.

Many thanks for your continued support of The River Reporter.

Laurie