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On this day one year ago, I was recently-unemployed, in severe back pain, and couldn't envision anything positive ahead in 2018.

But there was one thing that kept me going: messages from viewers that still supported me and the journalistic vision I had previously pursued. As I improved physically, I realized that although adversity had come my way, what I was dealing with was NOWHERE near as dire or unjust as the thousand plus activists and working people I had just interviewed during a whirlwind two-year period on the 2016 campaign trail, at Standing Rock, in Flint, East Chicago, St. Louis and beyond.

What I realized was: for whatever reason, I am not wired in a way that I could happily live without continuing to fight for those people and causes—even if it was only exposing the ugly and unjust face of it all and who was responsible (and how YOU can change it). 

But, the obvious question was...HOW?. How could I get back in the field to report on these critical stories now that I was solo and without the funding or infrastructure to do it. 

Thankfully, you answered the question by providing us AMAZING support--both financially and consistent viewership and digital sharing.

In 10 months since returning to journalism, I, along with Status Coup President Jenn Dize, photojournalist Ty Bayliss, editor Colin Tooley, and great help from independent journalist Sam Oser have been able to get back in the field in Flint, Chicago, Virginia, West Virginia, and Dallas. During that time, we've built our YouTube channel to nearly 25,000 subscribers, outpacing the growth of many much larger "progressive" channels than us.

Your financial support also helped Jenn and I break a massive environmental scandal in Flint that exposed Michigan state officials COOKING water lead data to produce false data and declare poisoned people's water safe (yes, politicians are sociopaths). That has resulted in calls for investigation by celebrities and politicians alike (and Jenn and I are still working on driving accountability). We will also be releasing "The Flushing of Flint" documentary in 2019 thanks to your continued support.

The reporting we've done has been rewarded through your ONGOING support: since March, we have grown to over 400 paid monthly members through Patreon and Membership. THIS is our main business model and we will continue pushing ourselves to grow our membership in 2019 in order to keep answering to YOU and no one (especially soulless plutocrats!)

And AMAZINGLY, in just three months, 562 of you have helped build our reporting resources by donating over $35,000 to our reporting GoFundMe: at this pace, we'll reach our $50,000 goal in early 2019! I am continually amazed at your generosity and faith in us—and work seven days a week to reward you for it.

Obviously, continuing to grow our resources and financial support is key—but there's plenty of people and organizations asking you for money, so I'll focus instead on this instead.

PLEASE keep fighting with us: I know it's difficult to keep faith or optimism that things will get more just, equitable, and fair in a system that has become the United Corporations of America instead of the United States of America.

But, I can tell you from traveling for three years and reporting in 35 states and cities: the LARGE MAJORITY of people in this country are NOT lacking compassion or empathy. Instead, the majority has NO f**king clue what the hell is going on—from their water being poisoned to the lawmakers they keep voting for selling them down the river economically. 

That's where Status Coup comes in—and as humbly as I can put it, there's not much competition out there for TRULY independent, aggressive reporters who want to get out across America and expose the oligarchy in the field.

So as we end 2018, I thank you not just for what you've already done to build Status Coup, but for continuing to fight with us every day. I'll see you in the New Year at 5pm eastern and as always, Sunday's at noon eastern.

Sincerely,
Jordan Chariton
Copyright © 2018 Status Coup, All rights reserved.


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