This fall I realized how unique the PublicSource newsroom truly is.

In October, I spent a week at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alongside 30 reporters from across the country, I participated in an off-the-record exchange of tools and techniques to support new journalists like myself in realizing our potential, navigating our newsrooms and growing into stronger storytellers. From talking to other journalists, I learned how rare and special newsrooms like PublicSource are: where everyone is invested in the development of their journalists — no matter their experience. At the workshop, I met journalists from newsrooms without photographers, reporters with unresponsive editors and controlling tyrant owners.

PublicSource is one of the few nonprofit newsrooms in Pittsburgh. Our “owner” isn’t a far-away media conglomerate with a divisive political agenda. It’s the public. It’s you.

More and more, journalists are feeling disconnected and unsupported by their newsrooms because of pressures of the news cycle and for-profit revenue models. Too many publications value clicks and shares over the actual reporting process, investigating and fact-checking.

At PublicSource, we know that our community of readers holds the truth and detailed reporting in the highest regard, and you deserve reporting that reflects that. Because PublicSource is a nonprofit newsroom, and we rely on generous donations from readers like you, I’m proud to represent PublicSource in asking that you consider supporting us during this giving season. Your contribution makes it possible for us to pursue the truth, and to participate in training experiences that sharpen our skills, reporting and the culture of our newsroom.

Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for sharing PublicSource’s stories, and thank you for your support. We’re looking forward to delivering more reporting and important storytelling to you in the new year.

P.S. If you are interested to learn more about my reporting at PublicSource, you can watch this video created by the Facebook Journalism Project. Also, donations up to $180 are being matched by The Fine Foundation.

Double your donation today.

Know more than you did before? Support this work with a MATCHED gift!

Through Dec. 31, the Wyncote Foundation, Loud Hound Foundation and our generous local match pool supporters will match your new monthly donation 12 times or double your one-time gift, all up to $1,000. Now that's good news!

Readers tell us they can't find the information they get from our reporting anywhere else, and we're proud to provide this important service for our community. We work hard to produce accurate, timely, impactful journalism without paywalls that keeps our region informed and moving forward.

However, only about .1% of the people who read our stories contribute to our work financially. Our newsroom depends on the generosity of readers like yourself to make our high-quality local journalism possible, and the costs of the resources it takes to produce it have been rising, so each member means a lot to us.

Your MATCHED donation to our nonprofit newsroom helps ensure everyone in Allegheny County can stay up-to-date about decisions and events that affect them. Please make your gift of support now.

Jourdan is a senior community correspondent at PublicSource. Previously, Jourdan was engaged as a community-based educator in the Hazelwood section of the city. A lifelong Pittsburgh resident, she’s...