December 15, 2014

Here’s a List of People to Follow on Twitter for the Latest on the Australian Hostage Crisis

Armed police close to a cafe under siege at Martin Place, in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. Rob Griffith/AP

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An armed assailant is holding an unconfirmed number of hostages in a cafe in downtown Sydney. Police have evacuated the area and are locking down a pedestrian thoroughfare, Martin Place. Here is a partial list of people and organizations you can follow on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the ongoing hostage crisis:

  • Buzzfeed Australia‘s breaking news reporter Mark Di Stefano is on the scene.
  • Channel 9 journalist Caroline Marcus is doing a great job covering the unfolding events.
  • Guardian Australia‘s Bridie Jabour has been running that site’s live blog and beta-testing the facts as they emerge.
  • Sydney police reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Lucy Carter, is also on the scene and tweeting.
  • Jess Hill is also doing a great job fact-checking the news as it breaks.
  • Cath Turner, a reporter for Seven News, a television company with studios within walking distance of the cafe.
  • You should already be following the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Mark Colvin for everything Australia-related.
  • For political ramifications, Fairfax reporter Latika Bourke is a great go-to.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald
  • The ABC
  • The Australian Newspaper
  • The New South Wales police, who are taking the lead on operations

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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