Killing independent journalism

And replacing it with state-funded propaganda...

Happy Presidents’ Day, readers!

We know we promised to take the day off and leave you alone on this holiest of federal holidays.

But something has been bothering us all weekend and we need to clarify:

WE ARE NOT GOVERNMENT FUNDED.

The people pushing that lie are part of a coordinated effort to dismantle independent journalism and replace it with a propaganda machine that serves their political interests.

If they can convince you that the press is secretly taking government money, then they can make you question our motives, doubt our reporting, and ultimately dismiss our work as biased or compromised.

It’s a strategy designed to erode trust in real journalism so they can replace it with something more obedient — something that tells only the stories they want you to hear.

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We’re not in 2016 anymore

Eight years ago, Donald Trump raged against the press, called us “the enemy of the people,” and encouraged his supporters to ignore us.

That was phase one: turning people against real journalism.

Now comes phase two: demolishing the press corps entirely and replacing it with something more obedient.

If they succeed, independent journalism dies.

And what replaces it? Literal state-run media via operations like Kari Lake’s Voice of America — where every story is filtered through a political agenda, and facts take a back seat to whatever the president demands.

Look at what’s happening:

ABC News rolled over and settled a $16 million lawsuit over one of its hosts saying on a live program that Trump had been “found liable for rape” when the actual statute was "sexual abuse."

The Associated Press was kicked out of White House briefings for refusing to recognize Trump's declarance that the Gulf of Mexico is now the "Gulf of America."

The Des Moines Register got sued for publishing a poll Trump didn’t like — a clear warning to every newsroom across the country that it's not just titans like the New York Times in the administration crosshairs.

And those are just a few of the many ways Trump is taking his attacks on the press to new heights. 

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The Agenda has always been funded almost entirely by our readers.¹

Although we offer a daily dose of some of the best insider information about Arizona politics and government, only a little over 3% of our paid subscribers have .gov email addresses. In fact, our .gov readers are actually slightly less likely to pay for Agenda than the rest of our audience. And when they do pay, it’s often through discounted group subscriptions.

Last year, readers using .gov email addresses paid the Agenda (and Tucson Agenda) about $10,000 for all their subscriptions combined². And we're immensely grateful that they value the Agenda enough to pay for it!

But if that's all the money we earned, we'd have gone out of business a long time ago.

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So here’s the deal

We’re building something different here — something that isn’t beholden to corporate overlords, billionaires or political parties. And we sure as hell aren’t beholden to the government.

But we can’t do it without you.

If you read us regularly and haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription, it’s time. Independent journalism survives when readers (not governments) decide to support it.

If you work in government and rely on our reporting, it’s especially time. Consider getting a group subscription for your whole office. Your job depends on real information, and local reporters are the ones providing it.

If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you! Consider forwarding this to a friend or colleague who should be paying for this too.

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One final thought

The damage being done to our institutions — including the free press — isn’t just about the next four years. This is generational damage.

If independent journalism is gutted, if reporters are silenced through lawsuits, intimidation, and financial strangulation, the press corps won’t just bounce back when the political winds shift.

The infrastructure, the expertise, the watchdog role we play — once it’s gone, it’s gone.

The people in power know that. They want a world where the only “news” is whatever serves their agenda, where investigative reporting disappears and is replaced with state-approved talking points.

And if you think this stops at politicians, take a look at the tech billionaires who have made it their personal mission to demolish the media.

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, he turned the platform into a buffet for conspiracy theories and propaganda while gutting visibility for actual news outlets. Now he’s coming for Substack, throttling independent writers who don’t bow to his worldview.

So if you rely on us for real, independent reporting — especially if you work in government — please consider paying for real, independent local news.

Because if the only thing keeping public officials informed is cable news soundbites and Twitter rants, we’re all in some serious shit as a society.

1. We launched the Agenda in 2021 with a $100,000 "advance" from Substack. In exchange for that funding, Substack took 85% of our revenue for the first year. They take 10% of our revenue now for using their platform, which is standard for all Substacks. We also make a few bucks off the occasional advertiser (though we don't allow politicians to advertise, which has hurt our bottom line) and we chase the occasional journalism grant.

2. We don’t know if those government employees put their subscriptions on the department's card or their personal cards.