(Update: In under three days, the crowdsourcing goal described below was met and exceeded owing to more than 120 generous contributions from individuals who support independent media. We truly appreciate this support and are moving forward with NonDoc’s planned relaunch. We will provide further details soon.)
When we announced our suspension of operations for December, many people asked two specific questions: 1) What will it take to ensure NonDoc can cover the Oklahoma Legislature’s important 2019 session? 2) How can we help?
So while we explore long-term solutions for supporting journalism in the 21st century, we have also developed a plan intended to guarantee operations for January through June in conjunction with the Legislature’s 2019 session.
For transparency, this plan involves securing at least $60,000 in advertising commitments and crowd-sourced support, a figure that would yield a $10,000-per-month budget that would be roughly twice our prior shoestring operations. Despite the hectic holiday season, the process of locking in advertising has been going well, so now we are turning to readers and the public in general as we attempt to raise 1/10th of our goal: $6,000. (More on that below.)
Why the 2019 session matters so much
Since time is of the essence, we are cautiously building our biggest team yet, refining our operations and developing our coverage plans for a complicated 2019 session that will convene Monday, Feb. 4, and feature:
- a new gubernatorial administration
- a largely new Legislature
- new revenue to appropriate
- education issues
- health care issues
- state agency examinations
- medical marijuana policy
- and other important topics
Because NonDoc readers have been vital supporters of our mission statement over the past three years, we know that any plan to re-launch and expand our site must also rely on concerned citizens chipping in a few dollars when they can.
Additionally, we need to show potential large funders that the public values and requests an independent publication like ours, which covers news with traditional journalism ethics and also acts as a responsible public forum for diverse commentary voices.
So, as we finalize other commitments that will re-launch our independent journalism efforts in Oklahoma, please help us meet our modest crowd-funding goal of $6,000. You will find a button for PayPal contributions at the bottom of this post, and you may also contact us by email or phone if you prefer to send a check.
By chipping in a few dollars if you can, you will help ensure operations from January through June 2019, and you will send a strong message to entities that are considering whether to support our work via advertising this year or additional investments for the future.
Also, please know that if other support falls through and we are unable to re-launch this month, we would certainly refund all contributions.
Lastly, any money raised above $6,000 will simply allow for additional freelance stories and broader distribution of our content across Oklahoma to areas sometimes lacking in-depth reporting on state government.
We promise to provide more information about our intended re-launch soon, including new team members, partnerships with student journalists and other efforts to improve our product.
But before then, let’s see if we can hit this goal and help ensure operations for this critical time in Oklahoma’s civic history.
Sincerely,
— The NonDoc Media team
Make a one-time contribution
(Editor’s note: For ethical reasons, we must ask that current elected officials at any level refrain from contributing to our re-launch efforts. Thank you for your understanding.)
