Why is The Real News in Baltimore?

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Dear Members and Viewers,   For the last few months, you've heard me introduce myself as being in Baltimore, and you may have wondered, why is The Real News in Baltimore?   The mission of The Real News has always been to deliver real news to ordinary people. Over the last couple of years, it has become clear to us that, for most people, as most politics is local, so is news.  In addition to our global and national coverage, we decided that we needed to dig into a major North American city to investigate, report, and debate the problems and solutions as they appear at a local level.   Of course, we will examine these issues from a systemic, national, and global perspective.  For example, why are so many houses boarded up in Baltimore?   We found that Baltimore, in the 1990s, was the beginning of the subprime mortgage scam that led to thousands of foreclosures.  We investigated how the city of Baltimore was defrauded by major banks in the LIBOR scandal.    We'll be examining issues like:   - the history of the War on Drugs in Baltimore   - why the public education system is so deteriorated   - why so many people, especially African-Americans, are in jail   - and what public policy would create a safer community.   While we're building a local audience in Baltimore, we believe that this programming will be of national interest because the problems in Baltimore are not so unique.   We will develop a new model which links investigative journalism with community town hall debates.  We will also create the Center for Investigative and Multimedia Journalism, where academics, scientists, public policy experts, and front-line workers collaborate with investigative journalists to answer the question: what public policy would serve the interest of ordinary people in Baltimore?    The home for this work will be The Real News Media Center.  A generous, small family foundation has helped us acquire a 32,000-square foot building in downtown Baltimore.  Here, we are building a town hall studio that can seat 200 people, The Real News Cafe, a training program for local youth, the Center for Investigative & Multimedia Journalism, and office space for local independent media and community groups.   We'll tell you a lot more about the plans for Baltimore in the next few months, but this project, which could happen in other cities in the future, might be a game-changer.    None of this happens without your support.  We know there are thousands of people who are regularly viewing The Real News who have not yet donated.  People tell us that they forget, they don't think that a small donation matters that much, or they feel that they're too busy.    I just wanted to say that every dollar helps.  Of course, the more you give, the more we can do. And with the current matching grant campaign, right now is the time.   We need your intellectual, moral, and financial support.  Will you take a moment now to donate if you haven't already done so?    The Real News is heading into a new and critical phase, and we need you with us.   Please click here to donate now.   Paul Jay and The Real News Network team