The Garrison Center Update I Meant to Post Several Days Ago

Each month, I send an email update out to all of those who financially support my work, updating them on what I've been doing -- mostly, what I've been doing at The William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism. They're paying for it, I figure they should be the first to know what I'm accomplishing with their money.

In theory, shortly after that, I should post a similar update here, both because I like to do that and because hey, it might move more people to become part of that group of financial supporters (which you can do from the sidebar -- Patreon, PayPal, cryptocurrencies, etc.).

I often forget to do that, but it's important to do it this month because I finally got done compiling the statistics from last year.

In 2015, Garrison Center op-eds were picked up by mainstream newspapers and non-libertarian political publications 545 times (that number is from memory, but I'm pretty sure it's right).

So, I set a goal in 2016 of, once again if I recall correctly, 750 pickups. And I think we ended up with 913.

For 2017, I didn't want to get too crazy and suspected Garrison might be hitting the top of its market potential, but I thought 1,000 was doable.

1,139.

I'm not going to set a goal for 2018, because I'm still of the opinion that there's a ceiling and that that ceiling is actually lowering as more and more local papers cease publication.

But I will note that Garrison had 135 pickups in January, and that if that's the monthly average for 2018, the total will be 1,620.

I'll also note that those pickup numbers are probably low, because there are almost certainly pickups I never find out about. I only list a pickup (at the Garrison web site, at the bottom of each op-ed) if I've actually found it online or if an editor has notified me that a piece is appearing in a paper's print edition.

As Damon Runyon put it, "he who tooteth not his own horn, the same shall not be tooted." I think I'm doing some pretty good libertarian outreach, and doing it pretty damn cheap too. Thanks to those of you who have supported, are supporting, or will support my work!