Now or Never
A message from Status Coup reporter/CEO Jordan Chariton. Please read in full...and check out our awesome new intro video!
Hey folks, it’s Jordan.
As Status Coup celebrates its 7th anniversary this month—and we stand less than 2,000 subscribers away from 500,000 on YouTube—I come to you with good news and bad news. But first, WATCH our new video intro (below), incredibly produced by our new producer Michelle—who our PAYING MEMBERS helped us to hire. I hope it inspires you.
GOOD NEWS: with scarce resources and much smaller staff than virtually all similar mainstream and independent outlets, we have built a little engine that could guerrilla journalism channel that regularly breaks news, regularly reports ON-THE-GROUND across America on stories few other outlets will touch, regularly give voice to activists, community members, and the downtrodden who never get a seat on a CNN panel, pen space in The NY Times, or even a microphone on big podcasts like Joe Rogan. In recent months, we’ve done incredible ON-THE-GROUND reporting from
Trump’s LA ICE/national guard invasion
Trump’s DC ICE/national guard invasion
Trump’s Alligator Alcatraz ICE torture prison
ICE protests in NYC
Anti-genocide protests in NYC (for which we have covered over 150 protests in 2 years)
Luigi Mangione (for which we’ll be ON-THE-GROUND Tuesday covering his next appearance)
We’ve also broken important stories on the ongoing disasters and COVER UPS involving East Palestine and now in Lousiana after a
EVEN BETTER NEWS: On Wednesday, a judge awarded Status Coup and our co-plaintiff the LA Press Club a permanent injunction against the LAPD in response to our lawsuit that sought to stop LAPD from shooting at and brutalizing journalists.
“The court granted LAPC and Status Coup’s request for a preliminary injunction and issued an order protecting the right of journalists to cover protests without interference by LAPD. The order includes protection from being dispersed or shot at with “less-lethal munitions” by police.”
BAD NEWS: Despite our success, we simply can’t grow and expand the way we want to—which includes reporting on-the-ground every week and expanding our staff of reporters, producers, and editors—without significantly growing our paid support. To be truly independent, that means—unlike so many others—not taking the shortcuts of pushing shady gold commercials, icky corporate sponsors, vulture investors, and the rest of the usual corporate suspects. It also means, in order to afford our ON-THE-GROUND reporting—average reporting trip costs $2,000-3,000 for 4-5 days—afford to pay me, our new producer Michelle, our longtime editor/producer Colin, our reporters and contributors like Tina-Desiree Berg, Ron Placone, Zeynab Day, and others…
***We need to SIGNIFICANTLY grow our paid membership—which you can join us for as low as 16 cents a day ($5 a month)***
***Today I set the goal of adding 1,500 new paid members by the end of 2025. If even 20 percent of the people who read this today sign up as paid members for as low as 16 cents a day, we will be able to gain hundreds of new paid members.***
For those whose budget is so limited they can’t afford to support us financially for 16 cents a day, no problem. Times are tough and we understand. Please keep supporting us by liking our videos, sharing our videos, and leaving comments (also sharing and commenting on our Substack pieces).
But for those who do have 16 cents a day—or more at our our higher levels of support—I respectfully, but directly, ask you…
What’s your excuse?
As humbly as I can say it, do you a sea a long list of other mainstream, or independent, news outlets consistently ON-THE-GROUND covering worker exploitation, government corruption and cover ups, environmental genocide, protest movements, and giving a microphone to living, breathing working class people whose voices are intentionally buried by mainstream media?
Do you see many other independent outlets foregoing the constant clickbait and drama stories—which are VERY profitable—to report on substance and deliver justice journalism?
You might spend 16 cents a day ($5 a month) on Starbucks coffee (hell you might spend $5 a day on it).
You might spend 16 cents a day ($5 a month) at your favorite sandwich shop (although who can get a sandwich for $5 bucks these days?)
The list goes on and on.
I know there are a whole lot of politicians, media outlets, non profits, and the rest constantly hitting you up for money—through email, through text, through carrier pigeon. That’s why we try and limit the amount of fundraising emails we do.
With that said, if we don’t grow our paid membership SIGNIFICANTLY toward the end of 2025, I do have concern over our ability to continue our current pace of ON-THE-GROUND reporting—which I hope you agree is vital given the authoritarian and corrupt government currently presiding over us (and a pro-corporate, pro-war, pro-genocide opposition Democratic Party that enabled most of what is happening today).
16 cents a day. That’s all I ask. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns—feel free to reach out to me directly. JordanChariton@statuscoup.com.
Let’s keep waking up the masses.
Jordan