As the young people say, it’s giving. Giving Tuesday that is, which goes down next week on Nov. 28. Here at the Amsterdam News, the occasion marks an opportunity to continue and expand on racial equity journalism dating all the way back to 1913.
“Our readers’ generous support will continue to fund our Beyond the Barrel of the Gun reporting project which is helping our community understand the root causes of, impact on, and solutions to gun violence in Black and Brown communities,” said investigative editor Damaso Reyes. “We will also continue our work highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on our communities as well as what we can do to stay safe.
“We can’t do this vital work without the support of our readers and our community. From making donations to providing tips, the investigative work we do can only happen when we are deeply engaged with those that we serve.”
Over the past year, projects including Reyes’ “Hard Labor” series and gun violence reporter Shannon Chaffers’ “Driven By Fear” story dove deeper into issues affecting Black and brown New Yorkers. For a weekly newspaper, these stories are rarely possible to complete without patience and resources.
The newspaper also took a major step in modernizing its website and shifting to a “digital-first” approach. Such a move allows the paper to provide daily news stories on Black issues nationwide online and helps reach audiences who traditionally get their news from the internet. Digital editor Josh Barker says Giving Tuesday donations will go a long way towards updated software, and overall enhance the newspaper’s digital presence.
For the uninitiated, Giving Tuesday started in 2012 on the premise of a “global generosity movement” five days after each Thanksgiving. Last year, roughly $3.1 billion was donated in the United States alone.
This Giving Tuesday comes at a time when local news continues to decline. Between 2004 and 2022, more than 2,000 non-daily local newspapers closed down.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.