Dear Readers,
It has been a privilege and honor to bring you coverage of every homicide in DC, from crime to conviction, for the past two years as founder and editor of Homicide Watch DC. Now an opportunity to study journalism innovation at Harvard as a Nieman-Berkman fellow means it is time for me to move on.
Working on this beat in DC has been so incredibly meaningful for me that I can not adequately express my gratitude to you for taking part in this experiment. Together we have changed the face of crime reporting and told the world that the common news values for violent crime reporting are wrong. We have said, together, with one voice, that how people live and die here, and how those deaths are recognized, matters to every one of us.
In an effort to continue this valuable work we are seeking to transform Homicide Watch DC into a student reporting lab. We need $40,000 to do it, and we hope you will help us.
The Kickstarter campaign that we launched today will raise the funds necessary to hire five paid interns to continue the work of Homicide Watch DC. Their reporting and community building efforts will ensure that Homicide Watch stays alive.
The student reporting lab will provide a valuable service for students as well. Students will learn reporting skills including writing breaking news and feature stories, advanced data collection, analysis and visualization, audience engagement and more.
There are a number of rewards available to you for your donation to this cause. We hope that the greatest reward, though, is knowing that you’re saying with us “we care.” That every life and death matters. That how our criminal justice system responds to violent crime matters. That together we insist: Mark every death. Remember every victim. Follow every case.
Here’s the link to help. Your support means so much to so many people.
Sincerely,
Laura Amico
Editor, Founder Homicide Watch DC
