Pause and think about this.

Since November, journalists have been cynically dismissing the Fediverse, saying that journalists cannot subsist here.

Well, the Fediverse may have given @TexasObserver a lifeline! So much of the donations from the GoFundMe have come from the Fediverse — many commenters saying they discovered @TexasObserver from their Mastodon server.

We, the Fediverse, just might save a storied institution of journalism!

To be clear, @TexasObserver set up three funding goals.

The first goal was $100,000. They reached that goal within a day.

Then they created a stretch goal of $200,000. Again, goal reached.

The last stretch goal was $250,000. It was just reached.

On the Fediverse, there is clear demand for @TexasObserver's work.

Journalists, are you watching this?

Regardless of whether the board approves of @TexasObserver's continued work, this great example of crowdfunding should prove that journalists don’t need Big Social.

If you create your own Fediverse presence, foster a community, and write compelling stories — people here will take notice.

Give people on the Fediverse the option to fund your work, and maybe they just might do it.

For the past 30 years, journalists have watched as private equity firms hollowed out storied publications, tech companies plundered and plagiarized their work, and politicians made propagandastic demands.

And though @TexasObserver has always existed precariously, it’s lived on because people who give a damn have donated to it.

Personally, I believe crowdfunding is a way forward for journalism, and @TexasObserver has tapped into something special.