Our mission: Political news is broken — we’re trying to fix it. I started Tangle five years ago for one simple reason: I wanted to build a news organization that brought people of all political stripes under one roof — from Romney Republicans to Obama Democrats, Bernie bros to Trump diehards, and everything in between. I knew the only way to do that was to put a premium on balance, transparency, and nuance while leaning into topics other newsrooms shied away from. So, I came up with a simple formula: Explain a big news story in the most neutral terms possible, share a wide range of opinions on that story, and then tell readers what I thought without partisan slant The goal is to leave readers feeling well versed in a range of perspectives about the animating topics of the day and well equipped to form their own opinions about those issues. A news organization that you and your family member who holds opposing viewpoints can actually read together.

What we’ve done: That was the basic concept for Tangle. Today, our newsletter has over 120,000 subscribers; and 40% of our audience identifies as liberal, 30% as conservative, and 30% as independent. Most importantly, over 95% of all our readers rate us as trustworthy. We’ve received “center” bias ratings from media watchdogs, and we’ve changed the way people consume and think about politics in the U.S.

Our goal: When I started Tangle, it was just me: a journalist with a newsletter. Today, Tangle has five full-time employees, part-time staff, and a cohort of interns. I’m learning on the fly on how to be a successful entrepreneur and how to scale this business. One of the most basic pieces of business advice I’ve gotten over and over again is “diversify your revenue.” About 90% of our revenue comes from subscriptions, and another 10% comes from advertising. Astonishingly, over 80% of our content (that we work tirelessly to produce each day) is free! So now, we are launching a way for readers to support us through donations.

Our hope is to raise $150,000 to support emerging projects like our growing YouTube channel, which we intend to expand in 2025. These projects are positioned explicitly to bring in a younger audience — and we are hoping we can reshape the next generation by teaching them to engage with views they may not like in a healthy and productive manner.

How we’ll use the money:

Hire an additional editor for our YouTube channel
Additional microphones, cameras, and software equipment to support the YouTube channel
Fund on-the-ground journalism that requires travel and resources
Launch education-themed content: explainers and historical videos in the Tangle ethos designed specifically for use with high school and college students

We are grateful for donations of any size — whether it’s $5 or $50,000. Until then, if you have thoughts about projects we should fun or stories we should explore, write to us! You can reach the team by emailing staff@readtangle.com

This campaign is a program of Journalism Funding Partners (JFP), tax ID #84-2968843, a verified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to “increase the depth, diversity and sustainability of local journalism by building and stewarding connections between funders and news organizations.” www.jfp-local.org.

JFP will share your information with the publication you are supporting. JFP takes your privacy seriously, and we are committed to safeguarding, preserving, and respecting the privacy rights of our donors, website visitors and other supporters. For additional information on how JFP maintains your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy.

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