You may have missed this over the holiday break, but the Seattle Globalist, a publication devoted to contextualizing Seattle in the larger international community, announced that it had run out of money.

At Crosscut, Marcus Harrison Green writes about what this means for the city's media landscape:

At a time when most newsrooms give lip service to racial diversity while being whiter than a Friends Trivia Night on Vashon Island, writers for the Globalist are 67% people of color and 45% immigrant or first generation American.

There’s no newsroom in the city that comes within Jupiter’s diameter of those numbers.

Most importantly, the Globalist acted as a fertile training ground for emergent journalists of color. Many of those journalists, with only the means provided by a working-class income, found traditional tracks such as journalism school cost-prohibitive. Amassing tens of thousands of dollars of debt for the tenuous prospects of finding a well-paying media gig after graduation didn’t quite pencil out.

If you care about diversity in Seattle journalism, this Friday brings a unique opportunity to support two organizations at once. The newly revived Seattle Association of Black Journalists is hosting an all-ages holiday party at the Redwing Cafe starting at 6 pm, and they're splitting the proceeds with the Globalist. DJ Custom Cutz will be playing all evening, and plant-based light appetizers will be available, along with beer and wine for sale.

Believe me, I'm as frustrated as you are that worthy media outlets have to rely on guilt and shaming to keep the lights on. And I want to be clear: This isn't your fault. Huge economic forces currently beyond our control are making it very hard for media outlets to stay in business. And we will work to do something about that, by and by.

But goddamnit, if you can give anything to help make Seattle's media younger, less white, and more gender-diverse, I hope you'll consider supporting these fine organizations.