What Do You Need to Know to Start Your Day?
Hi, I’m Rachael Larimore, managing editor of The Dispatch.
I help guide the editorial operations here and make sure the trains run on time. Back when I joined The Dispatch in October, The Morning Dispatch (TMD) was the first new project we conceived and started sending out. And even with all the other great work we’ve done since our launch, we consider it a flagship of sorts—it represents a crucial part of our mission. We’re a small band of curious souls with a bit of a skeptical streak and an endless appetite for news. We view the mission of The Dispatch to help you make sense of the day’s events and weed out the clutter. We provide fresh, fact-driven reporting and the context necessary to understand it. Very simply: What’s important and why.
Each day, we take great care in compiling the top section of The Morning Dispatch— what we call “Quick Hits.” Think of this section as the newsletter equivalent of your favorite radio station offering up news and the traffic report at the top of the hour. We link to an array of stories that are important to know about, and that you might have missed in the onslaught of so much news. We try to read everything, so you don’t have to.
Next is my favorite section, composed of two or three items that explain events in more depth, often with original reporting and analysis. Recently, for example, we took a deep dive into how the IMF is predicting a contraction of the global economy due to the pandemic, and what that means for the United States. A post last week delved into the failure of the Senate GOP’s police reform bill, looking into not just the politics of the legislation, but the increasing popular support for changes to law enforcement.
With all the heavy news going on, we do like to find a bit of levity in the day, and the occupational hazard of spending too much time online sometimes yields some real gems, which we give to you in “Presented Without Comment.”
We wrap up each edition with some notes and links to what you might read or listen to next from around The Dispatch. And often we end with a question for our readers that prompts further discussion in our comment threads—sometimes these are fun, sometimes they’re more weighty. These questions help us get to know our readers better and also spur further conversations over on TheDispatch.com.
We think it’s working—and we’re not alone. We hear from members of Congress, think tankers, business leaders, and even Cabinet secretaries who have made The Morning Dispatch part of their morning routine.
Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, put it this way last week on Dispatch Live:
I read a few newsletters in the morning, the last thing I thought I needed was a new newsletter. But The Dispatch is can’t miss—and I’m serious—I think it’s well-written, it’s smarter than the others, and it’s a great companion.
But the feedback we care about most is what we get from our members:
Can I also say, The Dispatch just gets better and better? Every week I think you can’t top last weeks articles and podcasts, but you all bring it. Thank you for doing really great things in a really great way.
Merrijane, May 2020
I’ve felt politically homeless for a while, but thanks to @thedispatch I am not ideologically or intellectually homeless. Proud to be a founding member. Check them out if you want clear-headed, honest, unbiased reporting.
Denise, May 2020
I hope you’ll consider joining The Dispatch as a member. There’s so much more available to you if you’re willing to take that step—more reporting, more analysis, more fun stuff. You’ll have the ability to participate in an online community devoid of the nastiness on Twitter or the angry back-and-forths on Facebook.
Give us a shot. You’re free to cancel anytime. But we’re confident that you will instead join the ranks of so many of our members who tell us the money they spend on The Dispatch is among the best money they spend on anything.
Sincerely,
RL
PS: Did you know we recently added members-only livestreams with editors and writers from The Dispatch, with realtime audience participation? In fact, that Chris Wallace quote was from a recent edition of Dispatch Live where Jonah interviewed Chris about his new book and answered our members’ questions. By upgrading to a Dispatch membership today, you can join us for the next edition of Dispatch Live scheduled for this Thursday. Hope to ‘see’ you there.
