As the dust starts to settle, I wanted to tell you – or in some cases remind you – that this Friday is the 20th Anniversary of TPM. This year we’ve got a lot planned mark the milestone. We note it every year. But twenty years is a big one and – candidly – in the charnel house of the news media business over the last two decades it’s one I’m pretty proud of. We’ll be telling you more on Friday. But for now I just want to say thanks to all the readers who’ve been with us since the beginning and since 2002 and 2006 and 2007 and 2011 and 2017 and really at every point along the way.
We are still in the midst of a historic economic crisis. And the economics of the news media remain bleak. But I can frankly say that I’m more confident in the future of the organization – both in business and editorial terms – than I’ve been in years. That is largely because our financial viability is strongly aligned with and dependent on the commitment and interest of our readers.
We are largely immune to the decisions the big social networks make and our exposure to the vicissitudes of the advertising market is far more limited than it was in the past, though it is still quite real. As long as our readers remain satisfied with the job we do and committed to our existence we should be okay. That is at least something that we have a lot of say-in, that is very related to the quality of the job we do. I think I speak for the whole team when I say that rolling up your sleeves and committing to doing great work is easier to do and sustain when you have good reason to believe that the quality of your work will have a strong relationship to the health and viability of the organization you work for.
Like I said, we will have more to share with you on Friday. For now I just wanted to let you know and thank you.
