The Tyee's First 100 Days

The day that Conrad Black went down, The Tyee went up. In the third week of November as our first stories went live, there on an already yellowing newspaper was the grimacing face of Hollinger's CEO and a headline saying that outraged shareholders and the U.S. Securities Commission were in hot pursuit of his media empire.

Needless to say, the ensuing 100 days proved a lot more enjoyable for us at The Tyee than for Lord Black. I hope you will agree that so far we have delivered on our promise to provide an alternative to Big Media, one that reflects a different set of values, that challenges and investigates power, that presents new ways of solving our problems, that invites lively interaction from our readers, and that seeks fresh voices and stories in all corners of B.C.

You have rewarded us with your interest. Our readership has continued to climb steeply since the day we launched. You viewed a quarter million Tyee pages last month alone, a phenomenal number for so young a site I'm told by those who make it their business to know. (By the way, guess when The Tyee gets the most traffic every day? Right after work is hot but 11 p.m. to midnight is busiest.)

What subscribing for free does for you -- and us

So a big thanks to every late night lurker. But please, don't just hover by the door, come right in and... subscribe. It's easy. Just click the button in the upper right hand of the index home page. And now you might even win a prize by doing so.

What does it mean to subscribe? No cost to you, and no risk because we don't share our lists with anyone. Every Monday by email you will receive The Tyee's dozen or so most recent original articles.

We, in return, will have a better idea of how loyal our readership is becoming.

That's important because while we are grateful to our current funders, we are actively seeking more funding and, soon, some advertising in order to afford more and better coverage. One thing funders and advertisers really want to know is the number of committed readers a publication has. By subscribing you let them know we are valued.

Tyee buzz

Measuring the value of a new player on the news media scene is not, of course, merely a matter of circulation numbers. Consider the buzz The Tyee has generated in its short life. The Globe and Mail called us "a feisty online journal" that "swims against the province's centralized current of opinions." Vancouver Magazine found our existence "reason the cheer." DotJournalism, a U.K. based authority on online journalism, declared us to be "a rapidly expanding online news site that is kicking back at suffocating media ownership concentration in one corner of Canada."

The Tyee's Victoria-based contributing editor Barbara McLintock is a regular Friday commentator on CKNW's The World Today and Tyee journalists have appeared on a number of radio and television talk shows to discuss what we've published.

"In a market dogged by media concentration and overlap," says the irascibly independent Raif Mair of 600 AM, "TheTyee.ca provides original, gutsy, investigative stories. It has become a key information source for our program."

That's what the pundits say. But when it comes to buzz, what our readers say matters most -- and boy do you say a lot. Just about every Tyee story draws fascinating and diverse comments that, when posted, appear at the end of the piece. Often the back-and-forth goes on longer than the original piece. The Tyee is proof of the democratic aspect of the Net, the instant, multi-directional conversation it allows.

A few highlights to date

But then, we've given you much to converse about.

Some highlights: Kids On the Job: Our first week we led the media in reporting that B.C. would soon have the lowest child labour standards. The Leg Raids: The Tyee's Barbara McLintock was early and often with incisive reports and analysis that more than one reader called "the best."

Organized Crime: One of B.C.'s top cops, months before the legislature raids, briefed MLAs about organized crime tentacles reaching into government. We found out, published his remarks, and a week later, the Vancouver Sun trumpeted the same as its front page lead story.

Drunk Driving Changes: McLintock again, this time breaking the story that the Liberals were quietly preparing to soften drunk driving penalties to save courts costs and time. Radio, TV, just about every B.C. news source -- except Canwests' three big B.C. dailies -- jumped on it. The Liberals backed off their plan.

Our reporters have taken you to Prince George in revolt against the B.C. Rail sale; inside the lives of abused wives shackled by Liberal legal aid cutoffs; smack in the middle of the Telus wars; and face to face with global nannies exploited on the job.

We've generated a lot of water cooler talk on the quirkier cultural front, too, including confessions of a feminist Cosmo lover, provocative film and TV columns  by Steve Burgess; blues for a busted wedding; and forty lashes for sexist media hounding Belinda Stronach.

Looking ahead

I thank all the fine journalists who have contributed their good will, thought and energy to The Tyee in its first 100 days. Special thanks to Charles Campbell who has lent his editorial smarts at key moments; to The Tyee's site manager, the ever patient and adept Tanya Evanson; to The Tyee's savvy and creative business director Michelle Hoar; and to our publisher Paul Hovan, for his faith and grace in taking on this venture.

The Tyee is here to stay. So as I say, please subscribe.

If you do, in days to come, with enough new subscribers and the funding and advertising that we trust will come with them, we expect to be able to add new sections, establish investigative funds, and deepen our reach and broaden our offerings.

As for Conrad Black, where you'll find him a hundred days from now... well, who knows?

Any bets?

David Beers is founding editor of The Tyee.