A free press is critical to our democracy. Our country’s founders knew that, so the principle was enshrined in the Constitution more than two centuries ago. But recent years have been financially challenging for journalism. Many news operations have closed or severely cut back on staff. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is an essential social enterprise and it’s our mission to press on. We report what is really going on. Our journalists follow the facts wherever they lead; they uncover the truth; they protect the public’s right to know; and they document our region’s moments, milestones and people. By providing this fundamental public service, we build a better metro Atlanta and state for this generation and the next.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution traditionally has had two sources of funding: subscriptions and advertising. Both continue to be important, although they no longer pay all the bills in today’s unforgiving media environment. A University of North Carolina study has found that the United States has lost one-fourth of its newspapers since 2004, leaving city and county governments, school boards and other public institutions uncovered and unaccountable.
To counter these headwinds, The Journal-Constitution’s parent company makes a considerable investment each year in what is required to produce serious, real journalism. We are owned by Cox Enterprises, a privately held company founded in 1898 and now led by the fourth generation of the Atlanta-based Cox family. Former Ohio Gov. James Middleton Cox purchased The Atlanta Journal in 1939. His steadfast belief in the First Amendment and his commitment to news as a public service continue to inspire and drive us today.
However, it is critical that we add new funding sources to ensure that Atlanta and Georgia have fact-based news to keep citizens informed. Like other media companies -- both legacy and startup -- we are now enlisting philanthropic support to help fund this important work.
To gain expertise in this novel funding approach, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution participated in a new initiative organized by the Center for Journalism Funding to bring newsrooms together to learn about funding models and share expertise.
The funding model of community support has taken off in many other U.S. cities, including Seattle, Dallas, Miami, Fresno, Calif., and Charleston, S.C. Community and philanthropic support in those cities has funded investigative journalism and reporting on critical topics such as education, traffic, homelessness, housing, land use and water policy.
The ways the news is now delivered have changed dramatically, from the presses and ink of our founding to the fast-paced digital world we live in. The ways journalism is now funded have changed as well.
But our mission to press on for Atlanta and Georgia never will. Press on with us.
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