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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

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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

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Thank You, Tyee Builders!

You surpassed our target of 500 new recurring supporters. We’re thrilled and energized.

Jeanette Ageson and David Beers 3 Jan 2024The Tyee

Jeanette Ageson is publisher of The Tyee. David Beers is editor-in-chief.

A group of 18 people pose. The makeup of the group is diverse by age, gender and ethnicity.
We’re rarin’ to take on 2024. Our campaign deadline is now passed, but, hey, it’s always a good day to join Tyee Builders!

What a great way to start off the new year.

In early December, we issued a challenge to Tyee readers — come on board as a paying supporter of The Tyee through our Tyee Builders program and help us hit 500 new recurring (that’s monthly or annually) contributors by midnight on Dec. 31.

We’re delighted to share that, by our deadline, 520 recurring supporters joined us, and more have joined since. What’s more, around 730 people gave one-time contributions during our campaign. That’s over 1,200 people who stepped up to fund our work in 2024.

These contributions provide the funding necessary for our team of journalists to keep showing up each day with original investigations and solutions reporting that you won’t read anywhere else. And it helps us keep slowly growing our organization in the face of overall dire conditions in the journalism industry.

We don’t take this support for granted. The cost of living is pinching a lot of households and there are a lot of very good projects out there to support. So we truly appreciate that so many readers share our contention that quality independent journalism is vitally important, and are willing to join us in keeping it going.

Our campaign deadline is now passed, but of course, it’s always a good day to join Tyee Builders, for the high-stakes reasons we explained at the outset of this year’s drive.

And if you’d like to see the list of supporters who signed up during the campaign, go to our campaign page and scroll down. It’s an impressive wall of names of good folks.

We are grateful for all the support. Tuesday, after a week’s holiday break, our team reassembled in our downtown Vancouver office and online. The mood was buoyant and energized. Thanks to you, we look forward to doing more great journalism in 2024. [Tyee]

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