December 15, 2014

Here’s a List of People to Follow on Twitter for the Latest on the Australian Hostage Crisis

Armed police close to a cafe under siege at Martin Place, in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. Rob Griffith/AP

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An armed assailant is holding an unconfirmed number of hostages in a cafe in downtown Sydney. Police have evacuated the area and are locking down a pedestrian thoroughfare, Martin Place. Here is a partial list of people and organizations you can follow on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the ongoing hostage crisis:

  • Buzzfeed Australia‘s breaking news reporter Mark Di Stefano is on the scene.
  • Channel 9 journalist Caroline Marcus is doing a great job covering the unfolding events.
  • Guardian Australia‘s Bridie Jabour has been running that site’s live blog and beta-testing the facts as they emerge.
  • Sydney police reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Lucy Carter, is also on the scene and tweeting.
  • Jess Hill is also doing a great job fact-checking the news as it breaks.
  • Cath Turner, a reporter for Seven News, a television company with studios within walking distance of the cafe.
  • You should already be following the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Mark Colvin for everything Australia-related.
  • For political ramifications, Fairfax reporter Latika Bourke is a great go-to.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald
  • The ABC
  • The Australian Newspaper
  • The New South Wales police, who are taking the lead on operations

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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