A message ahead of Giving Tuesday
Net proceeds from individual newsletter subscribers are going to charity this year. If you have any suggestions for apolitical organizations in need of support, please let me know.
Anderson Alerts members,
This newsletter was created to do good, particularly at a time when some have tried to limit what I can report on and where my work can appear. As we approach Giving Tuesday, I wanted to provide an update on the future of this newsletter, how you can be of assistance and a personal story about why I care so deeply about giving back.
When I started Anderson Alerts, I offered a clear message: “It's wrong for journalistic institutions to espouse values of free speech and a free press while simultaneously working to undermine it.”
Since then, I’ve worked to turn a negative experience into something positive, all while continuing to hold individuals and institutions accountable for their actions.
From comprehensive redistricting coverage to details on last-minute budget provisions allowing lawmakers to destroy their communications to Auditor Beth Wood’s abrupt resignation to a controversial political appointment by Speaker Tim Moore to a number of 2024 election stories, this newsletter has had an impact.
From the outset, I expressed my goal for Anderson Alerts being a platform where I could best serve readers as I searched for a good permanent reporting home.
Starting in 2024, I’m pleased to say that no former employer will have any ability to shape my political coverage or the reach it can have. While I’m hopeful I’ll have more to share early next year on my continued reporting plans, I remain committed to keeping the public informed through this newsletter.
When I started this Substack, I noted that net proceeds from individual subscribers would go to charity. That will remain true through at least the end of this year. To help fulfill this newsletter’s mission of reporting for the public good, I need your help.
If you have any suggested charitable organizations that are nonpartisan, apolitical and in need of support, please let me know. And if you want to support contextual journalism while making a donation to charitable organizations in the process, please consider upgrading to a paid membership or giving a gift subscription to a friend before the end of the year.
In these divided times we live in, it’s easy for people to think us reporters cheer for chaos and profit off controversy. While it’s certainly true reporters by their very nature gravitate to covering conflict, there’s one thing the public seldom sees: Reporters caring deeply about their communities and wanting to make it better.
As someone who shares stories about other people for a living, allow me to briefly share one about myself that I haven’t publicly (or even privately to close friends).
When I was in the third grade, I remember being taken to a shelter comprised of broken families.
I loathed my time there. The mattresses were rocks. The children cried incessantly. The kids had runny noses. The area felt run-down and unsafe.
One day, I toured a new elementary school that my mom had considered enrolling me into. When she asked what I thought of the place, I replied, “I want to go home.”
That marked a turning point. And I was one of the lucky ones.
I had two parents capable of realizing their mistakes and putting their child’s needs ahead of the wrong-headed advice of people around them.
While my parents promptly divorced, they both focused on the one thing they shared: A child whose wellbeing they didn’t want to get in the way of.
For an 8-year-old kid, the horrendous two weeks of moving from couch to couch, hotel to hotel and shelter to shelter mid-school year marked a turning point for me. I was no longer an innocent kid. I was a young man resolved to make things better than I found them.
So no matter the obstacles I’ve encountered, it’s not lost on me that so many people have had a fork in the road take them in the opposite direction.
This has been a challenging year for so many. People have struggled with schoolwork, faced challenges adjusting to post-pandemic life and grappled with economic hardships.
For me, I care deeply about youth wellbeing. All children deserve an opportunity to thrive and live with dignity, and no person ought to go hungry or be ill-clothed. Much of the funds raised through Anderson Alerts will go to organizations with these missions.
With your support, this newsletter will continue to have a positive impact.
Thank you for your continued engagement, contributions and news tips. As we enter a holiday season that can be tough on many, I wish you and your families well.
Best,
Bryan Anderson