No beating around the bush: It’s true. The American Independent News Network announced today that it will be shutting down The Florida Independent effective Fri., April 27.

It’s no secret that times are tough for journalists all over, and there’s no exception for online-only publications, or for nonprofits. Since we launched in May 2010, we have simply been unable to build a strong enough donor base to sustain our operations past the end of April. The site will remain live, but we will cease publishing new content after April 27.

Our mission for the past two years has been to create impact journalism, to write stories that positively influence public policy and debate. For examples of what we mean by that, check out the Best of The Florida Independent series we published in December 2011, which recapped some of our greatest hits. Those are the kinds of stories we were hoping to continue pursuing throughout 2012, and beyond.

We are genuinely heartbroken by the decision, and we’d like to offer a deep thanks to all our readers, tipsters and commenters. It’s been a pleasure.