They're Savaging Newsrooms. We're Building A New One.

This Valentine's weekend, our democracy is on the line.

On August 9, 1974, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein walked out of The Washington Post newsroom as heroes. Their two-year investigation brought down the most powerful man in America, proving that fearless journalism could hold even presidents accountable.

That moment showed what’s possible when reporters choose truth over access, when newsrooms choose independence over influence, when readers choose to fund the journalism democracy requires.

I’m building that kind of newsroom again.

Yesterday, I put up an ad for a Capitol Hill reporter who will track down members of Congress and get the truth we deserve. Tomorrow, someone I just hired with your support will add fresh content to our daily newsletters. And I’m just getting started.

I’m working Valentine’s Day weekend because our ability to have free and fair elections is on the line. I hope you heard what Kristi Noem said this week about choosing the right voters to choose the right leaders.

Yes, corporate media is failing. Jeff Bezos savaged the Post. CBS News employs a Trump lackey who kneels for Trump instead of challenging him. Local newspapers are closing in droves.

But here’s what the negative coverage misses: Independent journalism is thriving like never before.

I started Raw America to be reader-supported — so we’d be beholden to no billionaire owners and free to ask the questions that make powerful people squirm. We built a YouTube channel with 70,000 subscribers in just two months.

What we’re doing will make a difference in the midterms. And in 2028 — when everything is on the line.

This is about reaching new readers. And more importantly — new voters.

You’re not just subscribing to a newsletter. You’re joining a movement.

Every day, thousands of Americans choose Raw America over corporate propaganda. Every subscription funds another story oligarchs don’t want told. Every email we send cracks their monopoly a little wider.

The next Watergate is happening right now. The corruption, the abuse of power, the constitutional violations—they’re all there, waiting for journalists brave enough to investigate and readers bold enough to support them.

This time, we can’t rely on corporate media to save democracy.

With your help, I’m building something better: a newsroom funded by subscribers who value truth, staffed by journalists who aren’t afraid of power, funneling the facts to readers who refuse to be gaslit.

Oligarchs thought they could buy up the news outlets and control the narrative. They didn’t count on citizens funding their own journalism. They didn’t expect Raw America.

You’re proving that independent journalism can thrive when readers choose to fund it. You’re part of the solution that ensures the next generation inherits a free press, not corporate propaganda.

Your subscription is an investment in democracy’s future.

I’m not trying to recreate The Washington Post of 1974. I’m building something better: journalism that answers only to you.

Subscribe now and help me write the next chapter of American democracy: one where citizens, not oligarchs, decide what stories get told. Support the journalists who are fortifying democracy’s ramparts, one subscription at a time. Join our people-powered brigade.

I’d love it if you joined me.

Thank you for choosing hope over fear, independence over oligarchy, truth over propaganda.

Together, we’re proving that journalism’s best days aren’t behind us — they’re just beginning. Come join me, and let’s build something better.

—John Byrne, Founder Raw Story and Raw America

P.S. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. As founder of Raw Story, I’ve really enjoyed spending these past 22 years with you.