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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

Click here to Join Tyee Builders
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Media

Thanks to Tyee Readers, We’re 35 Per Cent of the Way to 2019 in 2019

Over 80 new monthly supporters have joined us since Monday, committing to support independent, public interest journalism. Bravo!

Jeanette Ageson and Robyn Smith 12 Dec 2018TheTyee.ca

Jeanette Ageson is publisher of The Tyee.
Robyn Smith is editor in chief of The Tyee.
TyeeBuilders2019Climb.jpg
Illustration by Indiana Joel.

On Monday we challenged our readers to join Tyee Builders, our supporters’ program, and help us get to 2019 monthly supporters by 2019. We started at 1,787, so we need to add 232 new members.

We’re happy to announce that as we write this, we’re already 35 per cent of the way towards our goal!

Will you join Tyee Builders now and help us hit our goal by Dec. 31?

Tyee Builders, readers who pay us a few dollars a month (or more than a few, whatever level they are comfortable with), make it possible for The Tyee to operate without a paywall, and make sure that we can pay our feisty reporting team and roster of freelancers to do original, in-depth stories that you won’t read anywhere else.

The Tyee’s funding comes from a variety of sources, including ongoing investment, a small amount of advertising, revenues from our live events, and our Tyee Builders (read more about our funding here).

We won’t get too into the weeds about the volatile nature of the digital advertising world, but suffice it to say that the old model for paying for news — attracting page views to earn money from advertisers — isn’t working anymore, at least not for everyone. And it certainly isn’t the right model to pay for in-depth reporting that takes much time and care.

What is working, and what many publications are starting to figure out, is asking the end-user of a publication, the readers, to consider supporting this work with a reasonable amount of money on a monthly basis, whatever that means to you.

Not only does this strategy mean that we have a consistent, reliable source of funds to plan ahead and invest in stories, it means that our focus is squarely on publishing stories that are worth something to readers, that add to your lives and help make sense of the world.

So far, this strategy has been paying off — in our last fiscal year, contributions from readers made up a full 35 per cent of our budget. It’s no exaggeration to say The Tyee wouldn’t be what it is without reader support.

So, what do you say, are you in?

Please join Tyee Builders today as a monthly supporter and help us reach our goal by Dec. 31.

And if you’re already a Tyee Builder — our sincerest thanks. [Tyee]

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