A New Chapter, Two Decades in the Making

Back in 2005, only a few years into what I assumed would be a brief residence in D.C., I started writing for what was then a small blog. DCist had no full-time or paid writers; we all did it as a labor of love when our day jobs were slow or we had an extra long lunch break and a snarky take on local news. 

I don’t think anyone could ever have expected what DCist would grow into: a well-respected news outlet that could actually pay its writers to report on local politics, uncover arts and culture, and highlight and celebrate the city’s quirks and curiosities. Of course, we all know what happened last year: the management of WAMU 88.5, which had purchased DCist, shut it down.

I’m not going to lie: I’m still angry about that. But I’m also feeling the same sense of giddy excitement with what The 51st is endeavoring to build as I did almost two decades ago when we were building what DCist would eventually become. And I feel even better knowing that The 51st is trying to do it free from the corporate bosses and gimmicks that have done so much damage to local media across the country. 

Still, building The 51st into a vibrant and sustainable outlet will not be easy. It will take time, hard work, and consistent backing from our readers. We’ve already seen the community come out in a big way to support The 51st in its first fundraising drive, and I’m heartened that so many of you have already pledged to become paid members. 

But we still need more paying members to  build on the success we’re seeing. Currently, we are 346 people away from achieving our goal of 2,000 paid members by the end of the year. (That's roughly 50 new members joining a day). Each member means something concrete to us; we recently broke down  how the additional support will keep us operating, how much it will allow us to ramp up reporting and publishing, and how it can expand our coverage across the city. 

Make no mistake, local independent reporting is needed more than ever. As we’ve already reported, the upcoming Republican control of Washington could have outsized impacts on local D.C. Unpacking what might happen to the city – and how city officials respond and residents are affected – is critical. 

I will always feel fortunate that I got to help build DCist. But getting to build The 51st is a more exciting challenge – because we’re all building this together.

Will you join as a member today? 

Thanks for being here,
Martin Austermuhle