So much has happened here at Uprise RI since our last reader update about a year ago, and we are excited to share these changes along with our upcoming plans.

The biggest change to Uprise RI over the past year has been our website, of course. We upgraded to a more organized layout with sections for the most popular topics we cover. These sections move up/down over time based on the freshness of their content and timeliness in current events. Image quality has been significantly upgraded both due to new cameras plus larger and sharper image support for 4k displays and high-dpi mobile devices (eg. the latest iPhones). In early 2021, we’ll be making additional tweaks to the website to better present our coverage and enhance your enjoyment of our reporting. You’re going to love it, we promise. Stay tuned!

Over the past year we acquired RI Rank and the Can We Fix It w/Moira Walsh podcast. RI Rank provides an invaluable resource for those demanding accountability of their public officials. Moira’s podcast provides our readers with a fun inside look at what really happens at the State House directly from one of its Representatives.

Will James joined our staff, providing amazing live coverage of protests and marches throughout Rhode Island. Will also helps maintain our Instagram and YouTube channel. Thanks to his efforts, you can catch our live event coverage simulcast on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Take your pick!

Speaking of YouTube, we began the practice of allowing ads on our videos this month. We have always avoided doing this, and Google has always honored this request. However, Google recently announced that they will begin running ads on all YouTube videos regardless of whether the publisher (us) wants them. So, we made the decision to enable ads to steer those ad dollars towards our mission rather than Google’s. We’ve selected only skippable ads to make the change as least intrusive as possible.

We have also made efforts to distinguish our social media profiles from each other, allowing you to follow us on all of your favorite platforms without seeing duplicate content. For instance, we encourage you to follow us on Instagram for social justice coverage in photo/video form. For political coverage in 280 characters, dank memes, and quick takes on the latest news, follow us on Twitter. And for highlights of our published articles, Like us on Facebook.

Lastly, want to express our thanks for your support. We survive entirely on donations from readers like you, and we are so appreciative of the support you’ve shown us over the past year. Your contributions have enabled us to upgrade our equipment, hire freelancers to help with our coverage, pay for APRA requests when necessary, and expand our reach. On behalf of Steve and Will, thanks so much to all of you who have become Patrons.