42. She hates the name “Nicki Minaj.”
43. She read lots of books when she was younger.
44. She hates getting her nails done.
45. Her pet peeve is when people spend lots of money just to impress others.
46. She says she’s always cold.
47. She thinks comedian Martin Lawrence is a genius.
48. She loves Rice Krispies Treats.
49. She enjoys washing dirty laundry.
50. She hates texting and having to return emails.
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
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