A fundraising email appeal JTA sent out Friday under my signature contained words I did not specifically approve, words that seemed to criticize bloggers and Twitterers. Understandably, they ruffled a few feathers in the blogosphere.
I know that was not the intention of JTA’s staff, nor mine. I am a strong supporter of new media and JTA spends a considerable amount of staff resources producing three very popular blogs Capital J, the Fundermentalist and The Telegraph. We are on Facebook and recently covered the Jewish Funders Network annual conference extensively on Twitter.
JTA’s point was not to insult new media practitioners but to stress the importance of supporting in-depth reporting, too. Inartful words or not, the rationale behind JTA’ s fundraising appeal remains: Quality journalism today is reeling from unprecedented financial pressure and JTA is no exception. We are appealing to our readers to support us, so JTA can remain strong.
On behalf of my staff, I apologize if we have unintentionally offended anyone. But I am confident and proud of JTA’s commitment to pursuing both traditional journalism and the rich new forms of reporting that the Internet affords.
To those of you who choose to support us, I am deeply grateful. Best wishes to all for a lovely Passover holiday.
Elisa Spungen Bildner
JTA President
