Are you part of The Tyee's critical 1%?

Thanks for reading The Tyee today — we hope this article added to your day in some way. Our team of independent journalists takes pride in doing in-depth reporting and taking time to get it right.

We're able to focus our attention on publishing impactful journalism in the public interest, and publish it for free for all to read, because we have the support of Tyee Builders. Tyee Builders are readers who contribute a bit of money — at a level and frequency of their choice — to support our editorial budget.

This core of supporters — making up about 1 to 2 per cent of our daily readership — enables us to pay our writers, keep our articles free and open to all, and not bombard our readers with annoying ads while you try to read.

Instead of focusing on what kind of articles will attract the most advertising dollars, we can spend time devoted to researching and writing stories that our readers find most valuable and make the most positive impact in our region.

If you'd like to join thousands of readers who help make independent journalism possible, consider joining Tyee Builders. Thank you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders

Help us un-break journalism in Canada

You made it all the way through the article – I hope that means you liked it (or if not ‘liked’ it, gleaned some useful information from it). Tyee articles are known for being quite lengthy, so we appreciate when people spend some quality time with our work.

Listen, I’ll get to the point – the article you just read was made possible because our non-profit newsroom was able to pay a talented journalist to research and write it. And we can only afford to do that because of our business model, which relies on a certain percentage of our readers signing up for our paid membership program called Tyee Builders.

The traditional business model for journalism in Canada has been completely disrupted, and we’re witnessing a slow collapse as corporate newsrooms buy up distressed publications, lay people off, and suck the value out of them before declaring bankruptcy. And it doesn’t help that tech giant Meta has blocked Canadian news on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.

There is another way and we are carving the path.

Between 1 to 2 per cent of people who visit The Tyee contribute financially, but amazingly, that small percentage is enough to fund half of our overall budget. And it means we can operate without a paywall, too. 1 per cent of people giving means 99 per cent of people get access to quality, fact-based journalism from a talented team of journalists who live and work in B.C., Alberta, and across Canada. We think that’s pretty remarkable.

If you’re concerned about the way journalism is heading in Canada and you’d like to do something about it, consider joining Tyee Builders and contributing an amount that works for you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders
Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
support us subscribe free
Music Picks

'Sound Opinions'

Three chords, two guys and the truth.

Thom Wong 2 Aug 2007TheTyee.ca

Thom Wong regularly writes for The Tyee's Music Picks column. He wrote the 40 bLinks column for The Tyee, and writes the Thomas in Law School blog.
image atom

If you're reading this, then chances are you're looking for some new music: some new sounds to shake up the old dry air that's pumping out of your speakers. But if you've been thinking that a drunken monkey with a highlighter and a copy of Rolling Stone would have the same success rate that I do, you might want to check out the Sound Opinions podcast, brought to you by the good people at Chicago Public Radio.

Every week, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, writers for Chicago's two daily newspapers, get together for about an hour and discuss rock 'n' roll with the kind of passion that most of us lost somewhere between high school and full-time employment. Name me one other show that would have Arcade Fire one week and The Curse of John Lennon...er...Yoko Ono the next. And not to be pigeonholed, the boys spent an entire episode deconstructing the Don Imus debacle (just Google the name if you happened to miss it), with no less a luminary than Chuck D.

Downloading their "Best of 2007 (So Far)" is a must for anyone with an iPod -- that hour alone will introduce you to more good new music in one show than I could in a year's worth of Music Picks. And if it sounds like I'm trying to drum myself out of writing gig, you couldn't be more wrong; Jim and Greg have simply challenged me to reach for higher heights and deeper deeps when examining the world's universal language.

Also essential is the "Buried Treasures" episode where they somehow manage to discuss even more great music than would fit into the "Best Of" show. Here they choose what is easily one of my top three albums of 2007: the soundtrack for the heart-on-its-sleeve musical, Once. I was thinking of devoting a Music Picks to both the movie and the soundtrack, but Sound Opinions does a better job of explaining why, if you care about music, you must see this movie immediately. Glen and Marketa sit in an empty music store and bring together what will be the film's centrepiece, "Falling Slowly," and it is at that exact moment that you'll either believe in the magic of music and love and a love of music...or you'll burn James Blunt in effigy.

Of course, it wouldn't be much of a show if the hosts just sat around agreeing all the time, and they frequently argue about an album's relative merits. They're certainly not above the odd name-calling. I couldn't find it again, but if you like what you hear, download every available show and find the one where they verbally eviscerate the latest Killers LP. The carnage is spectacular.

Related Tyee stories:

[Tyee]

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Are You Concerned about AI?

Take this week's poll