Annapolis Capital Punishment

From time to time we have plugged www.marylandreporter.comhere and also on my daily program "On The Foerfront" on 1430WNAV. Editor Len Lazarick writes to update us about the success of the daily new roundup he puts out every weekday. And yes, as does ACP, he asks for reader's support, which is what Len and I  have to do to survive in today's media environment to bring you the news you need. I urge readers to at least subscribe to MarylandReporter and while I also encourage you to contribute to Lazarick's publication, I remind you as well to support ACP by clicking on the PayPal donation button. And now, Lazarick's comments:
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A year ago at this time, I was wondering if I’d ever get a full-time job in journalism again. Then I heard about a nonprofit group which was as concerned as I was about the diminishing coverage of state government and politics. I submitted a grant proposal, got start-up funding and we started publishing MarylandReporter.com in October to be the one-stop shop for news about state government and politics in Maryland.
We’ve received additional funding from our board members, we’re doing contract writing for other media and we’ve run advertising. We need the help of subscribers like you to keep it going.
One of our donors offered us the opportunity to double our fundraising efforts by offering us a $10,000 matching grant. And we’ll need to raise more in future years to become a self-sustaining part of the new online nonprofit media. MarylandReporter.com is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations to us are tax deductible.

Most of you have been getting our newsletter for months, so you know what we do. We produce original news content that focuses on transparency and accountability in how government operates and spends taxpayer dollars. To give our readers the broadest news, we get up early every weekday to do a daily roundup from over 30 websites around Maryland. We started with 3,000 subscribers like you and we now have 7,900.

Our original content is regularly used by The Daily Record, The Business Monthly, Corridor Inc. magazine, CityBizList, Cumberland Times-News, WAMU and What’s Up—Annapolis, and our copy has been used by business and nonprofit organizations. Our model is collaborative, not competitive. We want Marylanders to get as much news and commentary as you can use – not just one point of view.

In June, our coverage won first place and second place awards in the new “blog” category of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The out-of-state judges commented: “In a time when daily newspapers are cutting their staffs, this blog steps in to fill the void of solid reporting about local legislative issues. …The nonprofit model of online journalism proves through this blog that it is able to uphold newspapers’ fourth-estate function as the print world shrinks.” And another judge said: “Well-written, balanced and fair.”

As we head into the height of the political campaign season, we need your help in expanding how many people find us on the Internet and use the newsletter.

We’d like you to consider becoming a charter member of MarylandReporter.com by donating $50 or more. If you head an organization, such as a company, law firm, or nonprofit group, we’d like you to consider becoming a year-long sponsor of MarylandReporter.com as have the Center for Guided Montessori Studies, The Business Monthly – both affiliated with our board members -- and Mays and Associates, our web developer and host. For $1,000, our sponsors receive not just our gratitude, but 12-month posting on our page of their logo that links back to their own organization’s website.

We are already more than a third of the way to the goal of raising enough to meet our $10,000 challenge grant. If we can gain 50 charter members and three or four more sponsors, we will have met our short-term goal. With more donations, we will be on track to become more sustainable next year as we meet the challenge of covering a newly elected governor and legislature, and a budget situation perhaps even more dire than the past two years.

By clicking on the donate button on our website, you can contribute any amount. Charter members at $50 will be acknowledged on the website. If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact me directly.

And if you can’t contribute, please share this email with your friends and colleagues and encourage them to subscribe to our newsletter. Would you be willing to share your personal e-mail list with us to help us build subscribers? (It’s fairly easy to do. Contact me.)

We appreciate your continuing readership and we look forward to earning and re-earning your support and trust over the coming months.

Gratefully,

Len Lazarick
Editor and Publisher
410-312-9840
Len@MarylandReporter.com

A copy of the current financial statement of MarylandReporter.com (IRS Form 990) is available by writing Len Lazarick, MarylandReporter.com Inc., 6392 Shadowshape Place, Columbia, MD 21045, by e-mailing Len@MarylandReporter.com, or by calling 410-312-9840. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401, (410) 974-5534.

Look here for frequent updates to all the 2010 election campaigns with 2010 Elections Again! LISTEN TO CP Publisher Paul Foer on 1430WNAV at 8:15 every weekday morning or click on the WNAV icon to the right, press On demand and On The Foerfront to listen. READ CP Publisher Paul Foer's "The Ninth Ward" every Wednesday in The Capital at www.capitalonline.com Identified comments are always welcome. ALL ANONYMOUS COMMENTS will be automatically rejected without being opened.