The "Save Bitch" campaign: 28 days and $24K to go

"Wien-er people going to realize that independent magazines need money?" publisher Debbie Rasmussen asks in a newly posted video on Bitch magazine's website. She's referring to the wiener dog-shaped-"thermometer" graphic that measures the monetary progress in their last-stitch, "Save Bitch" campaign.

The Portland-based, feminist quarterly has pushed through the magazine industry's indie-crushing economic funk, until now. On Monday, they launched an online drive to "keep Bitch alive," announcing their financial crisis, complete with stylish graphics and a YouTube-aided plea for pledges (below).

The video is a candid but light-hearted appeal by Rasmussen and Creative Director Andi Zeisler. "Bitch, as a small publication, as an independent publication and as a feminist publication, is at a disadvantage." But not only is Bitch without the protection of the parent-company umbrella during the storm, they're also a nonprofit--one that's been fostering smart, gender-focused analysis of the media since 1996.

You can find the blue wiener dog ("Feed the bitch to save Bitch!") at the top of the magazine's home page, next to a frank description of the campaign's goal: "We're not going to sugarcoat it: We need $40,000 by Oct. 15. Seems like a lot of money, doesn't it? In fact, it's the cost of printing just one issue of Bitch."

Although its independent status has put its future in jeopardy, Bitch clings to the nonprofit, reader-funded tradition. "Our fate really is—and always will be—in your hands. We don't need a parent company. We just need you!"

Donate here and watch the wiener grow.