If you follow media news at all, you have probably seen the headlines. Online media organizations are struggling and slashing staff. Facebook is again a primary culprit, with its latest action, yet another overhaul of its newsfeed algorithm, throttling traffic to many online news sources. Where once we had a diversified revenue stream and traffic sourced from many dozens of sites, internet monopolies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google increasingly dominate and smaller sites are at their mercy.
Luckily, a new paradigm has emerged and is gathering momentum. Readers around the world have increasingly arrived at the notion that the way to save the news sources they love is to pay for them. At The Millions, we have seen readers slowly but steadily sign on, and increasingly we’re seeing that our future is as a reader-supported site. The result is a new relationship and a secure future for The Millions.
It’s a thrill to see that so many of you value what we’re doing here. We are grateful that many readers have decided to contribute to The Millions since we launched this effort in 2016.
A very special thank-you goes to our three Sponsors at the $500-per-year level. Our Sponsors have the opportunity to dedicate their support to anything or anyone they wish, and we’ve created an acknowledgment area on the membership page.
If you’ve been at all on the fence about joining, we hope that our new Members newsletter will entice you. The Millions Members now receive an exclusive monthly newsletter in which our venerable staffers let you know what they’re reading right now. It’s a great way to find new books to read.
The amount we’ve raised so far provides us with some helpful breathing room as we look to become less reliant upon the internet giants and control our own destiny. It also helps The Millions produce the big features that are highly valued by readers: Year in Reading and our Most Anticipated list.
If you’d like to learn more, see my anniversary post from November, and here’s our member page if you’ve been thinking about participating but haven’t yet had the chance. And thank you, as always, for reading.
