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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.

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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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Help Us Find New Friends

We're launching a fun new way to reach new readers. Please help!

David Beers 30 May 2007TheTyee.ca

David Beers is the founding editor of The Tyee and serves as current editor-in-chief.

He started the publication in 2003 as an experiment in new ways of doing online journalism in the public interest, including solutions-focused reporting, crowd-funded support and a humane work culture. He loves what The Tyee has become thanks to amazing colleagues and readers.

He has lived in Vancouver since 1991. Before The Tyee he was a senior editor at Mother Jones Magazine and the Vancouver Sun, and his writing has appeared in many U.S. and Canadian outlets. He is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's graduate school of journalism.
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Will you help us spawn new readers?

Dear Reader,

I'm often asked how to help The Tyee keep producing fresh, independent journalism, free of charge.

Here's the best way. Help us reach new readers.

We prove our worth by the size and loyalty of our readership. As long as our audience is solid, so will be our journalistic content -- and our bottom line. But we have very little money for ads or publicity.

So we've made it easy, and even amusing, for you to help out in the next days.

We've created a video we think you'll get a kick out of, and want to pass on to friends.

Our new drive

It's at the heart of our new campaign to alert people to the threat of Big Media monopoly and the power of independent media. You'll find lots of material on the bad and the good at the new web site we've created.

The campaign also aims to encourage thousands more people to subscribe to our free "home delivery" headlines. Every Monday morning subscribers get a week's worth of Tyee stories in their e-mail inbox.

And now we've jazzed up that "home delivery" with exclusive features including a reader's poll, the most e-mailed story, and the best reader comment of the week, as well as scuttlebutt about what's going on at The Tyee.

Again, it's free to receive our e-mailed headlines. We don't share e-mail addresses with anybody. It's simple to unsubscribe. And the more people who subscribe to our headlines, the brighter the future of Tyee reporting.

Plus, everyone who signs up is eligible to win a great prize, as you'll see when you get there.

Let's go viral

So please have a look at our video. Help it go viral by forwarding it to as many friends as possible. Encourage those friends to sample The Tyee by getting our free weekly headlines.

Sign up yourself if you haven't yet.

And along the way get mad -- and laugh -- at the state of corporate media concentration in Canada today.

Before I close, I just wanted to add we've had a lot of fun working with the talented folks at birocreative.com to create this video. At one point, as we scratched our heads over what tone to strike with the cartooning, someone suggested "self-knowingly cheesy." Now there's a level of consciousness to shoot for in life! See if you think we got there.

Many thanks to Mobile Muse and " target="_blank">Phillip Smith for their help and support.

And, of course, many thanks to all of you,

David Beers
Founding Editor

What you can win (and thanks to all who donated great prizes!)

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