Anything but average: The Shift launches crowdfunding campaign

The Shift’s commitment to delivering journalism that makes a difference and our dedication to unearthing the facts has set us apart and ensured we’re still here seven years on.

Our community of supporters knows what we’re all about, and thanks to them, we’re proud of the three strengths that now define us.

We’re impact-led

Our work doesn’t just inform—it drives change. In the seven years we’ve been around, our stories still contribute to police investigations, parliamentary questions, and inquiries by the National Audit Office, the Standards Commissioner and the European Commission. Our investigations into the fraudulent Vitals Hospitals concession deal led to a magisterial inquiry and the arraignment of several individuals who once believed themselves untouchable.

We’re relentless

We don’t settle for superficial stories. Our journalists are known for their perseverance, posing challenging questions and persisting until we unravel the whole story. That’s what we did when investigating Clayton Bartolo’s transfer of Amanda Muscat, his then-girlfriend and private secretary, in an attempt to hide accusations of an ethics breach – we asked questions, found the evidence and published it.

We ensure that our biggest stories are updated and expanded, and we’ll spend months waiting for answers to Freedom of Information requests and years challenging their refusals.

We’re fiercely independent

We do this to maintain our editorial integrity, which allows us to investigate and report without fear or favour. But this freedom is not without risk, which is why we are asking you to support our work and independence so that we can continue fighting for the truth.

We could tell you a lot more about why we’re different. For example, we could mention that we do all the above despite the constant attempts by those in power to drain our resources.

This makes us acutely aware that our finances are constantly at risk of being squandered on frivolous legal claims, 45 of which – all filed by the government – we’ve been fighting and winning for over two years. We have fought every attempt by the government to shut us down and won every case in court so far.

We could explain that we’re the only newsroom to publish our finances in detail and that every cent donated goes back into our journalism.

We could even say that we are the only newsroom to provide the most exclusive and extensive coverage of Air Malta’s closure and the inner workings of the airline that replaced it.

We’re also at the forefront of investigations into Villa Rosa in St George’s Bay. Our latest story reveals how the government sold public land worth €3 million for only €134,000 to accommodate the developer. We could do this because we refused the thousands of euros offered to silence us.

Most importantly, we’re different because of our most outstanding achievement: the support of a reader community that has repeatedly shown us that a different way of doing impactful investigative journalism is possible. Help us keep it that way.

Please click here to donate. Thank you.