But will readers pay for a second year of Ferguson coverage?
Mariah Stewart, Huffinton Post’s reporter in Ferguson, Missouri.
The Huffington Post, owned by media giant AOL and led by mulit-millionaire Arianna Huffington, says it needs another $40,000 to retain reporter Mariah Stewart to cover Ferguson, Missouri, a city that set off a year of tension after unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, was killed there a year ago.
“For the past year, thanks to readers across the country, we were able to stay in Ferguson, Missouri, even as the cable vans packed up and reporters headed off to the next national event,” readers an email sent to supporters Tuesday evening. “With readers’ help, The Huffington Post plans to stay for another year.”
Two months ago, AllDigitocracy asked Huffington Post editors whether they planned to continue reporting in Ferguson, and if they planned to keep Stewart in the job. At the time a spokeswoman declined to respond to our question, and Stewart said she did not know.
Huffington Post first retained Stewart in August 2014, following Brown’s death and weeks of violence. When Huffington Post launched its first crowdfund campaign to pay for its Ferguson coverage a year ago, editors did so, they said, because the position had not been included in the company budget. There was no reason given for why the position was not fully budgeted in-house for the upcoming year’s worth of coverage.
Stewart has spent much of the past year chronicling the structural inequities affecting the city and its surrounding communities. She has also spent her time producing coverage for The St. Louis American, a newspaper that targets the area’s African American readers.
The new crowdfund campaign will allow Huffington Post to continue this unique partnership with The St. Louis American, Tuesday’s email states.
So far $11,180 has been raised from contributors in the current crowdfund campaign. Supporters have 10 more days to donate.