Food Safety News is in its fourth year of publication. Like any growing organization, it has suffered a few bumps and bruises along the way—some of them resulting from the belief that because I underwrite the publication, our reporters are biased towards me or that Food Safety News lacks editorial independence. I beg to differ.  In fact, I would say a majority of the bruises suffered have been to my own ego.  It is painful to admit that reporters I pay out of my own pocket quote me less often than major media outlets funded by advertising—sometimes paid by companies I have earned my bread and butter suing. I have it on good authority that Food Safety News articles are regularly circulated among top officials at our nation’s leading food safety agencies, as well as food safety and quality managers at some of the largest food producers in the world.  Would that be the case if I were quoted regularly or if it was clear our reporters were taking cues from me on how to write their stories? I do not think so. In fact, many story ideas I run by the team are passed by for what they deem more interesting or more important news. Ask any one of our writers and they will tell you that I’ve never complained about a story or told them what to write. I read Food Safety News stories when everyone else does—when they go live on the site. In the past three years, Food Safety News has earned a reputation as a serious news source and has been granted access at all the relevant government agencies, the White House and the Supreme Court.  During Congressional hearings and other events, our reporters sit next to the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Bloomberg and the Associated Press because our reporters practice serious journalism.  The staff work very hard for that respect and have been on the front lines of many breaking news stories. All that said, it is time for Food Safety News to generate some revenue—not  to line my pockets, but to provide funding for expanded in-depth investigations into food safety stories that no one else has the resources to explore. Food Safety News has grown to be an important news service and discussion place for tens of thousands of readers each week.  I’m proud to underwrite it, but it is my hope that the publication can achieve greater financial sustainability and independence by generating advertising revenue in the future.  Going forward, I will continue to support Food Safety News, but I think it will function best if I am at a distance. We would like to keep our content free for everyone, and so before we consider any other publishing models (like a pay wall), those of you with businesses selling food safety-related products or services may be getting a phone call from a Food Safety News ad rep in the next couple of weeks.  Food Safety News will also have a booth at the Food Safety Summit for people to stop by and discuss tailored advertising options. As always, I welcome your feedback on this or other topics.