WHEN I CAME to work at CommonWealth in late 2008, we had four reporters putting out a print magazine four times a year.

Today, nine years later, the print magazine still goes out four times a year. But we also post stories and commentary on a daily basis on the CommonWealth website. We send out a daily news summary (The Download) by email every morning. We host a podcast (The Codcast) and email out a behind-the-scenes report (the Back Story) and a commentary (The Upload) once every week. And we do it all with three full-time employees, one less than we had in 2008.

That’s the reality today in journalism. More with less.

But it’s a reality that you, our readers, need to fully understand. We provide in-depth coverage of transportation, education, and energy and we produce periodic investigative pieces on issues of importance. We also encourage broader public debate by hosting opinion pieces from knowledgeable experts such as James Aloisi, John McDonough, Edward M. Murphy, and Carol Rose as well as a host of people from all walks of life across the state.

Our cover story in this issue is a good example of what we do.  Airbnb is a company that has rocketed to prominence by matching travelers looking for a deal with homeowners looking to make some extra money by renting out an extra room or an in-law apartment. Our story illustrates how this business has morphed into something much bigger, with investors buying units and even entire buildings in Boston and converting them into what are essentially Airbnb hotels. The conversions appear to be sucking thousands of housing units out of circulation at a time when city and state officials are desperately trying to increase the supply. All this is happening right under the noses of state lawmakers and city officials, who have been sitting on their hands for years when it comes to regulating the home-sharing industry.

This is nonprofit journalism at its best. At a time when news operations in Massachusetts are disappearing and those that are left are increasingly homogenized, CommonWealth does something few other outlets do. We don’t cover everything, but what we cover we cover pretty well. We’re the opposite of fake news.

For the last 20-plus years we’ve made all of our content available without paywalls or subscription fees. But, to quote an ad that appears in this issue, free news isn’t free. It costs a lot and we need your help to keep producing it.

Consider becoming a Citizen’s Circle member with a donation of $1,000 or a friend of the organization by contributing $250. Even a $75 donation will help. Donate online here .

You contribute, we’ll deliver. Thanks.