Good Journalism is a Gift.

And I'm offering it at a discount for the holidays.

Atlanta’s municipal elections are over. The Atlanta story goes on.

If you wanted an early look at how mayor-elect Andre Dickens stacked up on policies — the nerd conversation — you saw it on these pages first. It was here that Dickens first laid out his arguments for fighting crime in detail, in the first serious policy interview of his candidacy.

Two of Atlanta’s most prominent political voices on matters of public safety — Joyce Sheperd and Cleta Winslow — lost to younger and more progressive political leaders, demonstrating that support for policies like the proposed police training center — Cop City — drew enough public opposition to cost an election. Joyce Sheperd had chaired Atlanta’s public safety committee. Her loss is a repudiation of those policies … a result heralded on these pages.

I think The Atlanta Objective has done good work since its inception in March, looking at the intersection of crime, business and politics in Atlanta. We were the first to cover the arrest of State Rep. Park Cannon. We have consistently examined police involved shootings in detail. We’ve taken our reporting to the street. We’ve gotten to thought leaders with deep conversations. We’ve provided detailed policy analysis.

I have more stories in the pipeline, of course. For example, the abduction of Blaise Barnett and the vigilante manhunt that followed it bears closer examination. So does the end of a notorious trap house in Capital View, which is turning out to be a fun story to report. The connection between Atlanta’s rap music industry and violent crime remains a potent and under-reported story.

But you’re going to see a shift in focus from hard reporting on crime in coming months, as I mix some new topics into the newsletter. Crime correlates with poverty and inequality, and Atlanta is the most unequal city in America.

Eighteen months ago, in the wake of shattered windowpanes and street fires during the raucous protests of the summer of 2020, corporate Atlanta began making promises to close the inequality gap in race and class in this city. I’m going to begin holding the people who made those promises to account by checking on their progress.

Consider the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, which announced an equity initiative last year. That project has milestones. Targets. Measurables and deliverables, supposedly. But the Chamber has become somewhat quiet about this effort. One has to wonder why.

In January, Southern Co. and Apple announced that they would invest $25 million each to build an “innovation center” with a focus on social equity — the Propel Center — at the Atlanta University Center. That is increasingly looking like corporate smoke, because the AUC can’t quite figure out where to put it.

There’s more to observe, of course. That kind of accountability is what you pay for when you become a paying subscriber to The Atlanta Objective.

Dear reader: you may be trying to Christmas shop for someone who can buy whatever the hell they want. Their material needs have been well met. But their emotional need to see someone confronted in deeply uncomfortable ways by a crusading journalist in their community may not yet be satisfied.

As you consider your holiday shopping this year, I am offering 25 percent off paid subscriptions to The Atlanta Objective. Supporting this newsletter is a signal of support for your community. And that, friends, is the gift that keeps on giving.

Sign up if you haven’t yet. Sign someone else up if you have. It beats the hell out of a trip to Lenox.