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I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers to journalism’s ongoing crisis, but I do know that without your support, local journalism will wither away until it barely resembles the institution that holds powerful accountable & tells its community's story. THREAD (1/20)
Our organization, like most others across the country, has lost dozens of incredible journalists over the past decade and the wealth of community knowledge that walks out the door when they do. (2/20)
But in their stead, others have picked up the mantle. These journalists also believe in the power of the Fourth Estate and in telling good stories and making a difference for this community we all live in together. (3/20)
And I’ve got to say, without these journalists and the @GreenvilleNews many of these stories would not have been told. And you – the public, the reader – would be worse off for it. (4/20)
These stories aren’t easy to put together. Some of them take weeks and months of work – digging, learning, writing, rewriting – but I’m proud of the work we’ve been doing of late. I believe it makes a difference. And it take dedicated, paid journalists to make it happen. (5/20)
Just look at a few of these stories with me. @eslafleur spent months putting together this story of how one sheriff swept a sex scandal under the rug (while he was involved in his own sex scandal with an employee) and how his replacement fixed it. (6/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/loc…
@DanieljGross spent weeks tracking down details to reveal how a Greenville megachurch is spending its parishioners’ offerings to buy its new big-name pastor a $1.8 million house. (7/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
And when our health reporter @livgnews was tipped off to a petition circulating about discord within Greenville County EMS, she and @AnnaBard2U shed light on the issue and revealed the problems to the Greenville community. (8/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
The result? I’m just going to post the next three stories they wrote. First, the EMS director announced his retirement. (9/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
…then local black leaders called for public hearings into the dysfunction… (10/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
…and a week later Greenville County decides to hire 30 more medics for its overtaxed system. Would Greenville County have fixed it without the public pressure? Maybe, but certainly not with this speed or decisiveness. (11/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
@KirkBrown_AIM used hundreds of public records to tell a different side to a story of a man shot and killed and whether the Castle Doctrine was correctly used as defense by a local funeral owner who killed him. (12/20) independentmail.com/story/news/loc…
Anna Mitchell revealed a lawsuit against Fleur for overcharging the U.S. government by hundreds of millions of dollars for work they performed in Afghanistan. That’s not a story a business will send out a press release about. (13/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/201…
A day after the city of Belton revealed it had too high of a concentration of lead in its water, @nikiemayo continued to probe. The city had failed to notify customers, despite finding out about the high lead levels in November. (14/20) greenvilleonline.com/story/news/loc…
We sent 5 journalists to cover the @ClemsonFB National Championship, we wrote about a lawsuit against local restaurants for serving alcohol to a minor, future development plans for Wade Hampton Blvd., restaurants paying fines for food safety violations. (15/20)
None of this would happen without readers and subscribers. So 1st, thank you. And 2nd, if you’ve been reading our stuff and keep hitting that dadgum paywall, that’s because you find our stories worth reading. So please support us so we can keep telling these stories… (16/20)
… as we try to figure out how journalism works in this new uncertain era. Consider subscribing because I don’t want you to miss what we’ve got coming this next week. Subscribe for online access for $3 for first 3 months right now. (17/20) offers.greenvilleonline.com/specialoffer?g…
A team of journalists, @annazlee @MikeEllis_AIM @photojmorgan and myself have been working on this for much of the last two years. It’ll be powerful and worth your time. (18/20)
Let me know if you do subscribe or if you’re subscribing now. I’d like to thank you personally. (19/20)
*I'll post a link to the investigation once it's posted.
*I'll post a link to the investigation once it's posted.
Here it is. Civil asset forfeiture affects thousands of people in S.C. Police reap millions and our exclusive database shows black men are most affected by far. greenvilleonline.com/in-depth/news/…
