Hey, John — it’s Tara McGowan, the founder and publisher of COURIER. Thank you for taking a moment of your day to read my message. I’m truly grateful for your support. 

June 2024 was a pretty big month, John. 

Donald Trump had a record fundraising haul after being convicted of 34 felonies. CNN’s disastrous debate coverage showed that the legacy media still doesn’t get their role in fact-checking and protecting our democracy from misinformation.

And here at COURIER, we celebrated five years of fighting right-wing propaganda and misinformation online and in our battleground state newsrooms.

To mark our five-year anniversary, we want to have our most successful fundraising month yet. Can you chip in $25 now to help us reach our $25,000 goal by midnight?

Five years ago, I founded COURIER in response to the mainstream media’s failure to meet the moment. Donald Trump won in 2016 because the media prioritized profits, views, and clicks over truth.

We can’t let that happen again.

At COURIER, our mission is simple:

• Our local newsrooms in 11 battleground states will always call out right-wing misinformation and tell the truth. There are no “alternative facts” or “both sides.” There is the truth, and we will hold right-wing bad actors accountable for their lies.
• Our talented journalists restore trust in the news media by covering local stories that matter most in the communities we serve. The best antidote to bad information is good information. We will never compromise our values just to drive clicks and profit.
• We will make our news coverage freely available in the online spaces where people actually spend their time. Social media news feeds. Inboxes. Search engines. By bringing quality journalism to the online spaces where misinformation is thriving, our reporting dismantles lies and conspiracy theories before they can spread.

This mission has never been more important, John. It’s clear the mainstream media is following the disastrous 2016 playbook that led Trump to victory. COURIER can be the solution.

We have less than 24 hours to raise the $4,000 we need to reach our $25,000 goal. I know it’s a lot, but we can get there if everyone reading this email pitches in just $20.

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Thank you so much,
Tara McGowan
Founder & Publisher
COURIER