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I want to thank everyone for the immense support you’ve given the Asheville Blade over the past weeks and months. I believe it shows a real hunger for hard-hitting news and sharp perspectives on our city and its times.
Now I’m asking you to back us directly, by giving a little bit of your hard-earned cash on Patreon to make the Asheville Blade a reality. For the cost of a beer — or lunch — per month, you can make local journalism thrive.
Asheville is a beautiful, amazing, struggling and rapidly-changing city. There is no other place I’d rather live, and I am constantly awed by the tenacity and brilliance of our citizens, especially considering the obstacles we face.
The Asheville Blade started to reveal a single story, a blog I only planned to use once. But it has evolved into more.
Even in its brief existence, the Asheville Blade has revealed important news pieces silenced, investigated the conduct of powerful public officials, called out the need for “An Asheville for the rest of us,” analyzed important government policy and shared powerful perspectives.
And we’re going to do more, so much more, with your support.
These are chaotic times for journalism, especially local journalism, and not just here. I’ve heard more than once that my profession, one I see more sorely needed than ever, is obsolete. That is a lie.
Because it’s also a time of opportunity, a chance to make something better.
For all the uncertainty, I know the way forward is not fear; it’s courage. I believe that journalism will only survive if it remembers its core calling: to seek the truth, inform the public and fight for justice.
The name “The Blade” has a rich history in news media, from 1850s newspapers fighting for workers’ rights and the abolition of slavery to the LGBT media that emerged in the late 1960s as a long-silenced community found its voice. That is the spirit we need today.
This is our city. Its stories are worth telling. Its problems must be faced. Its people deserve a voice.
I hope you’ll join us in moving forward.
David Forbes,
Editor