In a critical moment for local news, the Chronicle needs your support

Never has the need for accurate, carefully curated local Jewish news been more urgent.

It’s a little more than two years since Oct. 7, when Hamas and its allies began a series of attacks aimed at destroying Israel, and more than two years since broad antisemitism, which had already been at high levels, exploded internationally, nationally and here in Pittsburgh.

And now, just a few days ago, the Jewish community was targeted in a mass shooting at a Chanukah event in Australia, which resonates deeply with so many of us here.

These two years have been hard for everyone. We hear it from you, our readers, whether you’re liberal or conservative, whether you’re traditional or not so traditional in your religious life, and whether you’re deeply involved or less involved in the Jewish community. Moreover, the raw tensions in our national political and social fabric don’t help. Some people tell us they’re overloaded with the bad news — that they value and love reading the Chronicle, but they wish we didn’t have to report so much bad news.

We also wish that there wasn’t so much bad news, but it is our responsibility to report the world as it is. You need to know what’s going on so you can act effectively to try to make, if not the whole world, then at least our city and community a better place for all.

But there is lots of good news happening, too. Stories of successes, growth, inspiration. We report on all the good news that we can find, and we try especially hard to paint a balanced and accurate picture of everything of significance that’s going on in our community. We hope that by reading the Chronicle, every day on the internet and every week in print, that you feel uplifted more than you feel stressed.

The world is increasingly a messy and complicated place, in which many people have very different takes on what’s going on. That’s why we also invest in giving you a range of quality opinions and perspectives on the events of the day, including the views of a wide range of community members via letters to the editor, opinion pieces and our weekly poll.

We at the Chronicle are constantly thinking about how best to provide our audience with the most useful and highest quality information. The internet, social media and now AI have transformed the news and information ecosystem beyond recognition, putting enormous responsibility and stress on any media outlet that wants to report accurately and fairly. The internet has made it possible for anyone to put anything out there, without expertise or regard for the truth. Social media allows misinformation and disinformation to spread farther and faster than ever. AI is making it even easier and more compelling to create false narratives and hide sources.

Never has the need for accurate, carefully curated local Jewish news been more urgent. However, the need for resources and the economic threats are also greater than ever.

Last year the Chronicle was the only Jewish news publisher to receive one of the initial grants from Press Forward, a new national consortium devoted to supporting local news. Two months ago Press Forward gave us the opportunity to attend a national conference on the business of local news. Again, we were the only Jewish news outlet represented, but it was inspiring to see so many other local news publishers fiercely dedicated to their critical mission. The biggest takeaway from the conference was that despite the digital trends that threaten us, there are also lots of opportunities to serve our audiences even better, to help them be more informed, more connected and more engaged. All it takes is more reader engagement and support.

It’s a two-way street. We hope that the more we engage you, the more you will support us. The more you support us, the more we can do to engage you.

So, we ask you, to the extent possible, to please support the Chronicle and support it generously. First your support enables us to keep the lights on, and then it enables us to keep on developing our ability to better serve you in this crazy news and technology environment. You’ll be helping yourself, and you’ll be helping the rest of the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

You can donate here. PJC