Not sure yet.
I think that we are all just getting numb by this crazy political climate. Maybe that is their intention. I think WTF Summer Lite would be ok. BTW I have been reading every day since the beginning and I contribute monthly through PayPal. Not much but I hope it helps. I oscillate between furious and numb. Thank you for what you do!
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What about guest contributors to pick up some of the summer slack?
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I’d like to do that and I’ve tried it in the past in a few ways. In my experience, it takes a lot of time and effort to get contributors to drop the rhetoric picked up on social media and to focus instead on news-values. I’m not opposed and very open minded about this, but I’m worried about wasting time on people who either insist on injecting their partisan politics into this or disappear after spending several hours getting them up to speed. This is on top of the operational and coordination overhead.
My preference would be to hire one or two people part-time. That would make the management and facilitation easier and more consistent.
I’ll explore this further and whether we can find some money to make it all work out. Perhaps we do a t-shirt sale or something to fund a few helpers?
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To the shortened summer WTFJHT. Two days a week of WTF lite should do us all good before the midterms. You deserve to enjoy the fucking sun as much as the rest of us do:sunny:
Katherine
Austin
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Same here, Jacqueline, on all of the above.
But I find the daily WTF makes it possible to stay on top of what’s going on without tipping too far into either numbness or overload.
(And I’ve already emailed Matt to say a lightened summer load with a still-daily WTF sounds smart.)
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I like the current format, but respect your desire to enjoy summer. Is there a way others could step up in your absence like when you’re traveling?
I fully support you taking some down time- we can find other ways to get the news if we find it to not be enough. I hope people will continue to contribute financially. Take care of yourself, we need your reporting for the long haul!
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Has anyone read any of the analysis that say, in short, that Trump’s strategy is to overlord and burn out the opposition with “protest fatigue”? I’ve seen several articles saying the same thing.
Just thought I’d point that out…
That said, I recognize, Matt, that you’re doing a helluvalotta work and, like a marathon, you need to pace yourself. But before I chime in with my 2c, I wonder what sort of support system there is. Is it just you and your occasional plea for financial help? Do you have any sort of advisory group or board? After all, I think there’s a way to have our cake and eat it too, but first we gotta know who the bakers are. (And apologies for overuse of metaphors!)
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Issues: Train few people to pick up slack. Subscriptions to every newspaper must be in Name of DBA, not MATT so the select few can cover for him while he is Summer Mental Healthing. Who else beside Matt has the big picture. How can others know what are the important stories. Think more thinking has to go into this change.
Hi Matt, thanks for all you’re doing to keep us informed. Please keep it as simple as possible for you to disperse this important info to us. I love how it’s just the facts and not too sensationalized like KOS. Do what you need to do.
Chuck
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I don’t have a problem with the proposed summer schedule. The only reason I would want you to keep up the grind is if impeachment proceeding were starting. That’s not likely until after the midterms. So, chill a little!
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sounds reasonable to me 
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It’s about finding a sustainable, long-term balance – not a summer break.
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Yes, this is the setup. I hire Joe to run the podcast and help with the morning update.
Training people who aren’t sufficiently invested takes time and comes with considerable risk. For instance, interns leave after several weeks. My preference is either to slightly ratchet down temporarily or hire one or two people that can be trusted to run the show end-to-end without intervention.
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I’d hate to lose the Noteables, I really appreciate the smaller tidbits.
I think your own ability to take some down time depends on the news cycle, just because it’s summer recess for congress doesn’t mean the WH and POTUS aren’t going to keep doing news worth things…
For your own long term sanity, I’d recommend exploring hiring options, maybe turn this into a news co-op with some trusted folk who you can work with and share the overall burden so you can all avoid burnout. That’s something I’d be willing to chip in a little more for.
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I totally want you to have some downtime Matt - you utterly deserve it. But the fuckery will no doubt continue throughout the summer and it would be a pity not to capture all of it not least because you are creating an extraordinary historical archive here … but we also understand how hard it is to find a stand-in. Can we have a fundraising drive to finance some proper cover? I would contribute! Whatever happens, we trust you completely - do what you have to do. We can all see what a huge work commitment this project is and are supportive of whatever you need to do.
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I agree with the suggestion a few people have made that we could all use a break now and then from the relentlessly depressing news out of Washington. On those occasions that I find myself walking around the house, railing against the heavens for the position we have put ourselves in as a country, I know that I’m reaching saturation level. If it helps you make a better product, go for it, Matt! I salute your commitment to providing this web service.
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My background is in grassroots nonprofits and community organizing, thus my inclination is to suggestion strengthening your structure. You’re doing a lot for a one-man show, yet clearly there’s a ton of interest and support from people with a lot of skills. Have you thought about forming some sort of advisory committee at least? A small group of people who you trust who can help you make big decisions like this?
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