Recessions are tricky things for business news publications.
Right when they are most valuable for informing and navigating economic and career changes, the publications themselves become most at risk. This is truer today and especially for local news. Local newsrooms are further shrinking, or being shuttered altogether. We at Technical.ly are committed to doing the opposite, especially in Baltimore, where we’re reported daily since 2012.
In December, we announced we were adding an additional full-time reporter in Baltimore, to report to our own Stephen Babcock. Despite remarkable disruption, that is still happening, thanks to support from the national nonprofit Report for America and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, now headquartered on North Charles Street. Our newest newsroom staffer will begin in June.
We know we need to do more for Technical.ly to serve as a modern wealth and poverty beat as Baltimore’s existing economic transformation is further accelerated. As our sustainability is further challenged by an economic shock, we intend to deepen our journalism, to help you navigate your organizations, your career and your place in Maryland’s recovery. You can help us do that in several ways.
Today we are introducing the Technical.ly Journalism Fund, a pool of funding that will go directly to our reporting, both by our full-time newsroom and to increase additional freelance writing.
Contribute to the Technical.ly Journalism FundAt launch, this is imagined as a $1,000 contribution from organizations, but you are able to alter the contribution level. Additionally, we want to make clear the various ways you can support expanding our work.
How can my organization work with Technical.ly?
- Work with Technical.ly to support your talent acquisition needs: We specialize in employer brand marketing and direct placement support. That work has always contributed to our newsroom. If you’re in a position of growth, consider us as a way to both meet your organizational goals and support local economic reporting. (And hey — right now, we’re offering free job posts to companies hiring for tech roles and COVID-19-related roles.)
- Underwrite Technical.ly storytelling you want to see: If you want support for stories or virtual events (webinars, etc.) that drive results for your company, our product team can help. If you have a passion that important stories in Baltimore aren’t being told enough, you can underwrite our newsroom to do more of that issue-based reporting.
- Contribute to the Technical.ly Journalism Fund: As introduced here, if you want to make a smaller organizational contribution to ensure we’re here to report on your company’s growth and work, consider making a contribution and think of that as an annual act of support.
For insight on any of these methods of support (or more creative solutions), you can email me (chris@technical.ly) and/or my colleague Alex Galiani (alex@technical.ly), a Maryland native who works everyday to make connections in Baltimore, D.C. and beyond.
How can I as an individual support Technical.ly?
- Subscribe and share: Reading, subscribing and talking to us is always the best first step. We have a daily headlines email and our popular This Week in Jobs newsletters; join here. Otherwise, following and sharing our work on social and with your network helps us serve more people. We also want to hear from you, on social and via email.
- Tell us if we’ve helped your career: We set aside our individual membership program earlier this year because we are more interested in knowing how we’ve helped you; fill out our Employment Survey here.
- Attend our virtual events and chip in: Starting on May 7 (details to come), we’ll be hosting a series of virtual events focused on career and organizational navigation in times of crisis. Many of these will be free to attend to remain accessible, though any contributions will go toward our Journalism Fund.
At times of crisis, we find just how valuable and to whom we are. Technical.ly aims to become a more valuable tool to support navigating the choppy local economy and your career. We appreciate any support to get us there.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
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