From Jordan: I Need Your Help to Keep Going
PLEASE READ FULL EMAIL: as we wind down shooting our Flint water decade anniversary documentary, and prepare to head to cover TOXIC water in coal country West Virginia, I'm going to keep it real...
Hey folks, it’s Jordan. I’m writing as I plan our fourth day of shooting our documentary in Flint. I’m excited about the nearly 10 interviews I’ve done and the documentary we will be producing for the 10-year-anniversary-of the water crisis (April 25th).
Despite that excitement, I’ve gotta keep it real: I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep because I’m simultaneously carrying anxiety—the kind that comes when you are a small, scrappy independent outlet with zero corporate funding or big-dollar investors. Without writing a novel, I thought it would be helpful for you to get a window into our expenses for this ON-THE-GROUND reporting compared to what we’ve currently financially brought in doing it:
Flint Water 10-Year-Anniversary Documentary (Thursday-Sunday)
$1,500-2,000 (documentary filmmaker Ty Bayliss producing & editing our Flint documentary…this is a DISCOUNTED rate from Ty as normally the cost of a documentary filmmaker is much higher)
$840 (flights for Jon/me to Detroit; we then drive 1 hour to Flint as its cheaper to fly to Detroit than Flint)
$557 (hotel for 3 nights)
$678 (Rent-a-car 3.5 days w/ insurance)
$250 (4 days food)
$196 (Best Buy, ProCam, and Guitar Center for 3 needed pieces of equipment for microphone/camera)
Total:
$4,300 (depending how many days Ty works on documentary)
West Virginia Water Crisis (Monday-TBD)
$960 (flights for Jon and I from Detroit to West Virginia)
$500 (Rent-a-car plus insurance for 3 days)
$300 (Hotel West Virginia for 3 nights)
$200 (Estimated for Food)
Total:
1,960
Total Costs for Flint water documentary trip & West Virginia water trip (at estimated 7-8 days on the road)
$6,300
Meanwhile…total Donations Since We’ve Been On The Road:
$35
Total Paid Member Sign Ups…
3 new members each at $5 a month
I don’t think I need to explain why our travel costs—compared to funding/revenue we have brought in—is not sustainable for an independent media outlet to continue to do ON-THE-GROUND reporting. These travel costs are ON TOP of monthly pay for:
Myself, Colin, Jon, Ron, Tina, and a new part-time production freelancer we just brought on
$2,100 in other fixed monthly costs (our LIVEU broadcasting unit, bookkeeper, and other administrative/program costs)
The overwhelming majority of our viewers are working people without a pile of Benjamins hiding underneath the mattress. If you can not support us financially, I completely understand…
FOR THOSE WHO CAN: let’s say 1,000 people read this email and each donate $5 bucks to Status Coup, we would have covered nearly all the expenses for this important reporting (and I can actually sleep tonight!). Of course, if you can swing it, we welcome higher amounts as well.
Six years ago, when we launched Status Coup, I made a fundamental choice that we would build this thing from the grassroots without allowing ourselves to be bought or watered down. That decision was the right one—but it also is the much harder path to take. I hope after seeing the full picture, you will contribute to help support this reporting. To be honest: if we can’t earn more funding to offset costs, I am going to have to make cuts that I do not want to make in order to ensure Status Coup can continue.
Jordan