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ProPublica
The political devolution that led Americans to elect Donald Trump again has many causes, but one of them is the collapse of local news. By reporting on things that people can see and experience in their own communities, small and midsize papers once fostered a common culture and a shared sense of reality, while drawing attention to important stories missed by outlets lacking local knowledge.
In the absence of strong local journalism, conspiracy theories and demagogy have flourished. Politico found that in 2016, Trump did especially well in the communities with the lowest number of news subscribers, even when controlling for education and employment. In the most recent election, according to polling by Data for Progress, he dominated among those who said they don’t follow political news at all.
Trump will return to office at a moment of weakness and instability for the journalism business. With fewer resources, many media institutions will find it harder to stand up to him, especially if and when he targets their owners’ other business interests.
In this climate, the work of the nonprofit, donor-supported news organization ProPublica is more important than ever. In 2021 and 2022, ProPublica used an enormous tranche of leaked I.R.S. data to document how billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos avoid paying their fair share of income taxes. In 2023, it revealed how billionaire donors funded lavish perks for the Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. This year, it’s documented how abortion bans led to the deaths of women in Georgia and Texas.
Besides taking on major national stories, ProPublica is trying to fill some of the void left by the implosion of local news. Through its Local Reporting Network, it pays the salary of journalists who want to undertake expensive, time-consuming investigations that their home outlets can’t afford. In Idaho, for example, a probe into the state’s crumbling school buildings, done in concert with The Idaho Statesman, led the state’s Republican government to approve $2 billion to fix or replace them. Such work may not drive clicks, but by spurring tangible improvements in people’s lives, it may be the best way to start rebuilding trust in the news.
Abortion Pill Sustainability Fund
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, blue states like California, Massachusetts and New York rushed to pass shield laws to protect doctors treating women from states where abortion is banned. For some doctors, that means providing abortions to women who travel from out of state, but for others, it means sending abortion pills to places where terminating a pregnancy has become illegal. That work could get very dangerous when Trump takes over, especially if his Justice Department tries to revive the Comstock Act, a long-dormant 1873 anti-vice law, to prosecute anyone who sends abortion medication through the mail.
The Abortion Pill Sustainability Fund, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Healthcare Across Borders, offers a way to support doctors risking their safety to offer this essential care, allowing them to reach more women in need.
The fund works with a network of doctors who operate on a sliding-scale basis. They charge patients $150, but will accept whatever they can afford, which is sometimes nothing. According to Jodi Jacobson, the longtime reproductive rights activist who founded the fund, about a fifth of the women served can’t pay the full amount. That means that in addition to braving legal jeopardy, these doctors are also taking a financial hit. Jacobson told me that one practice she works with incurred an $87,000 loss in just one month.
The Abortion Pill Sustainability Fund partly reimburses doctors for the free or low-cost care they’re offering, helping them to stay afloat. “We will continue doing it as long as they continue to provide,” Jacobson said. “And they are telling me right now they’re going to provide no matter what.”
This article is part of Times Opinion’s Giving Guide 2024. The author has no direct connection to the organizations mentioned. If you are interested in any organization mentioned in Times Opinion’s Giving Guide 2024, please go directly to its website. Neither the authors nor The Times will be able to address queries about the groups or facilitate donations.
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