Marblehead News staff
We rebranded and now we are being matched! Starting today through Dec. 31, the Marblehead Current – Marblehead’s only non-profit, independent newspaper – is participating in NewsMatch, an Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) initiative to financially support and sustain nonprofit community journalism.
As a nonprofit, we do not have a media parent company funding us – or dictating our community coverage. Our newsroom is right here in Marblehead, staffed by veteran local journalists with over five decades of combined experience covering our town. We depend on individual donations, which are tax-deductible, modestly-priced advertising and sponsorships, also tax-deductible, and support from foundations through INN and others.
Any individual donation made today through the end of year will be matched dollar-for-dollar by INN up to $1,000. And recurring donations will be matched 12 times, also to the $1,000 limit. So, if you make a one-time donation of $100 today, that is $200 for the Current. A monthly recurring donation of $10 ($120 per year) is $240 for the Current.
Our NewsMatch goal is to raise $15,000 from donations for a total of $30,000 with the match. Every dollar raised will go directly to supporting independent journalism – to paying for freelancers to add to the depth of our coverage, to our new print edition coming to your mailbox soon and to our digital news site.
Since 2005, more than 2,000 local newspapers have closed around the country, eroding vibrant coverage about local government, business, sports and the arts. These closures have resulted in “news deserts” where citizens no longer can count on being up to date on important stories in their communities. We don’t want that fate for our town.
After Gannett took over the Marblehead Reporter in 2019, slashed resources and bare minimum local coverage ensued. Former editors and journalists from the Reporter got together and vowed to not let Marblehead become one of those news deserts. The idea for a non-profit, sustainable, newspaper was born. Local leaders, like Jessica Barnett and Ed Bell, got involved, and the Current became a reality.
Two newspapers got Marblehead through its first 150 years. Our mission is to provide Marblehead with objective, independent news for the next 150. Will you help us by supporting the Current and get matched today? Donate here: https://bit.ly/3fggUv5