Friends
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity
of those who have provided financial support for Wait, What? - Along with all the
people who have read and participated in the dialogue - The Wait, What? blog
has become a leading news and commentary site.
The 1,820 blog posts since January 3,
2011 have attracted over 1.6 million visits and an incredible 23,000 comments.
Thanks to all of you, the blog has
become a prime example of the importance of investigative blogging, advocacy
journalism and the role social media can play in helping to educate, persuade and
mobilize people to stand up and speak out about the important issues of our
time.
While the primary focus of the blog has
been the on-going effort to push back against the corporate education reform
industry and re-take public control of public education, we’ve collectively
dealt with an impressive array of issues.
The first blog on Wait, What? was entitled
“MIND THE GAAP –
Confronting the Cost of Fiscal Honesty 1/3/11).” Less than a week later,
the blog of the day was, “Grappling
with Connecticut’s Budget Crisis – Part I: What about Education Funding?
(1/7/11).”
The article ended with the observation;
“After pledging
during the campaign that he would maintain state funding for local education,
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy backed
off a bit Thursday, saying that is “a goal” that he will “try and accommodate.”
“That’s a goal
that I have when preparing the budget,” he said during his first press
conference after taking office. “There are many goals that I have. We are going
to try and accommodate all of them,”
While some things haven’t changed, others certainly have. That post failed to
generate a single comment and only a handful of visitors stopped by to read it.
Now, with tens of thousands of visitors
a month, an individual blog post can generate dozens and dozens of comments.
With 2015 underway, I hope to ensure
that Wait, What? becomes an even more vital and important part of the public debate.
And so, I turn to all of you, again.
Over the four years, many of you have
made a contribution to help support Wait, What?
And many provided financial support to
my campaign as well.
I truly appreciate each and every one of
those contributions for they have provided me with a truly unique opportunity
to be heard on many of the issues we care so deeply about.
I know that these are difficult
financial times for many of us and that the notion of financial security remains
out of reach for many, but whatever financial support you could provide would
be extremely helpful as I strive to use Wait, What? as a platform to provide
news and commentary about the issues of our time.
A
donation will help strengthen Wait, What? and the role of advocacy and
investigative journalism in Connecticut.
You can donate on-line here or, if you
would prefer, donations can also be made by check. Checks should be made out to Wait, What? and
sent to Wait, What? c/o Jonathan Pelto, PO Box 400, Storrs, CT. 06268
Contributions are not tax-deductible,
but they go a very long way toward help with the maintenance of Wait, What?
Thanks so much,
Jonathan