It was one year ago today that the Long Beach Post first began asking you, our readers, to contribute to keeping local journalism alive in the city.
A lot has happened in that time.
A year ago, we were facing the same challenges faced by many local news publications: Digital advertising revenue was down, gutted by online monopolies like Google and Facebook.
Most corporate-owned online media outlets had been going the paywall route, but we remain firm in our belief that local news is too vital to be available only to those who can afford to pay.
So we asked you, the reader, to chip in what you could. We didn’t offer coffee mugs or hoodies in return. We asked you to support the local journalism you already get for free by financially supporting the work of our journalists, if you could.
And so many of you did.
Thousands have contributed to the Post over the past year giving an average contribution of $12.39 a month.
$12.39 a month has allowed us to increase our staff by 500% to become the largest newsroom not just in Long Beach, but also in southern Los Angeles County. We’ve been able to cover more of what’s important to you, and last weekend, the Post took home two dozen awards from the California News Publishers’ Association’s California Journalism Awards, more than any other digital newsroom in the state.
So if you haven’t yet contributed to support local news in Long Beach, please consider what the news and information you get every day from the Post means to you, and start a recurring monthly contribution of $12.39 a month—or whatever amount is right for you.
If you’re unable to contribute at this time, don’t worry; the news and information you get every day from the Long Beach Post will remain free, with no paywall or limit to the number of articles you can read each month. You can still help us out in other ways, like sharing the stories that matter to you with your friends and family.
If you’re already giving $5 or $10 a month and you’re ready to give more to support local journalism, email us at [email protected] and we can help you increase your monthly contribution.
Or just drop us a line and let us know how we’re doing.