Throughout campaign season and after inauguration, The Washington Post has broken major stories about the Donald Trump administration despite plenty of pushback. The publication has continued to do its due diligence, and that fight hasn’t gone unnoticed, for fans of the paper wanted to thank the staff for their tireless work. Employees at the publication were in for a surprise on Thursday when readers sent over a massive heap of pizza as a thank you for all the tireless work.
And why not? Everyone loves pizza.
The pizza party was spearheaded by retired Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kevin Austin, who set up a GoFundMe page to show his appreciation for journalism outlets (specifically the Post and New York Times) for how they’ve covered Trump and his administration. On his GoFundMe page, Austin wrote that this campaign was created to not only thank journalists at big papers but also smaller ones, since most outlets are driven by those who burn the midnight oil:
“My goal is to show the Post and the Times that I appreciate what they’ve been doing the last few weeks because they’re performing a historic service for all of us. They are not the only hard-working, courageous journalists in the country. Thousands work every day under extremely difficult circumstances, at small-town weeklies and big-city dailies … My hope is that this impulsive project (an idea that came to me in the shower) will grow. PIZZA FOR EVERY NEWSROOM, because nothing says thank-you like a slice of pepperoni. They deserve our thanks.”
People seemed to believe in Austin’s message, as the page raised more than $7,800 in two days from nearly 450 donors. Austin decided to extend the goodwill by including more publications, and you can see the full list here. Several members of the Post snapped pics of the pizza party and sent out a thank you video to those who coordinated the edible gift:
Hey dear readers: thanks for the pizza! pic.twitter.com/CK0SEABQUe
— Gene Park (@GenePark) March 16, 2017
The crowd-sourced, pizza-for-journalists arrives @washingtonpost. Food in a newsroom evaporates. pic.twitter.com/nls2NhU4lD
— Lee Powell (@leepowellTV) March 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/katiezez/status/842429465586225153
A generous GoFundMe campaign bought our newsroom pizza today. Not to get too cheesy here, but thank you. ? pic.twitter.com/FoDJOYrJom
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 16, 2017
This isn’t the first act of kindness directed at journalists this year — Tom Hanks recently purchased a new espresso machine for the White House press corps. And to show that he truly is the nicest guy on earth, this was his third time doing so. Pizza and caffeine, the two key component to keep a journalist going, which they may need in the Trump era.
(Via The Washingtonian)
