Four Things We've Heard About Sludge

Sludge readers know how many important money-in-politics stories there are for us to investigate. From lobbyist bundlers to astroturf influence campaigns and “dark money” political ad operations, it feels like this work is more urgent than ever. 

You count on us to keep you informed about all of this, with our relentless focus on following the money.

Make a year-end donation to support our independent reporting. Anything you give will be doubled by a matching donor!

I wanted to share some actual responses to our investigative journalism I’ve gotten from Sludge readers:

“The stuff you find in the Sludge Report, is that all real?”—an honest question from a well-informed political newsreader friend, which just goes to show how unbelievable the Big-Money corruption we expose can be. (And it’s all real.)

“What you’re doing is so important, the under-the-radar work of holding politicians accountable.”—we’re glad to hear this a lot. As the 2020 election year approaches, we’re dedicated to continuing to find the hidden influence stories worth wider attention and put them out for public accountability.

“How do you find and publish all those stories, as a small team?”—it is indeed a challenging funding climate for independent media. Our reporting is made possible by a base of members who support our work with recurring donations of $5 or $9 per month.

Help our independent newsroom continue reporting by making a donation—it will be matched. 

“I’m shocked” (sarcastically, in response to some corruption exposed by Sludge)—it’s a near-constant sentiment given the state of our politics, but we hear you. “Shocking” is still an earnest refrain in our team Slack, when one of us finds a story lead that connects the dots of Big Money and undue influence.

You may have seen that Sludge is 100% reader supported, which means that our only funding comes from small donors who appreciate our scoops on conflicts of interest and corporate lobbying giants. But it doesn’t mean our newsroom is 100% sustainably funded yet—we are running short on funds at the same time that our work feels more urgent than ever.

If you’ve been reading our stories or receiving our newsletters, now is the best time to make a donation ahead of the 2020 election year—a Sludge reader has generously offered to match up to $5,000 in new donations, and as of now we’ve only raised less than half of that amount.

Donate now to show you appreciate Sludge’s reporting and your gift will be doubled.

If you’re in a position to make an end-of-year tax-exempt donation to our independent newsroom, we’d be grateful to discuss your support for our work ahead of the news-packed 2020 election year. Email me: david at readsludge {dot} [com], or DM me on Twitter for my Signal number. Thank you for reading.