In this article from The Atlantic, the case for paid content, for community media, both print and online, is made.

James Fallows has, for the last year or so, cast his focus on the business of creating media, particularly in smaller markets. Here, he tells the story of a small newspaper in upstate New York called Shawangunk Journal, a resurrected masthead from an earlier time, active now for the last 13 years as a weekly print publication as well as an online presence called NewsAtomic. They provide reportage that is different from their mainstream counterparts, to provide a complementary, not a usurping voice; they have so far been able to resist being folded into a large conglomerate, where their voices could be neutered and their mission diluted; they are dedicated to an online presence. Most importantly though, they are committed to sustainability.

This model of sustainability includes payment for content, unapologetically and nonnegotiably. They know that in order to serve their community, the venture needed to be absolutely reliable; they could not serve the community as they wanted to and as the community deserved absent reliable support.

As noted in the article by Fallows, the editors of the paper, Alex Shiffer and Sharon Richman, weathered a 50k deficit about 3 years ago, and the paper was on the verge of shutting down. There, as with so many other outlets (including Lace on Race) the struggle has been in convincing readers to pay for what they consume, in their case, for the print edition (where the prevailing model has been free weeklies) and, crucially, with the online outlet. Says Shiffer,

“We still fight the battle every day, of people saying on Facebook, ‘What, do I have to pay for this?’ And we’re on there constantly saying, ‘Yes, you do, and here’s why.’

Their answer? A model of sustainability that looks a lot like ours here on Lace on Race, with subscribers (what we call Sustainers) and people who pay a la carte. Currently, they have about 2000 subscribers, with a paywall that enforces the payment imperative. In their subscription page, they say this to their subscribers: ‘Beginning in 2017, the Shawangunk Journal has been asking its subscribers to play a larger role in making the paper sustainable. You can still subscribe for the basic cover price, or you can show your support for the role we play in this community by subscribing for more.

I like that language. Embedded is an acknowledgement that the paper is more than just a paper (and more than just an online presence); it’s a community resource. That’s key, I think.

There are lessons here for Lace on Race. There are differences to be sure, but it’s worth looking at the similarities as a model for us walking forward in ways that allow the community to grow together, with confidence that this will succeed for the long haul. As well, because we will be more and more moving to a magazine format, with a different focus each month, we can look at what that means for us as a community in this interactive experiment.

Just as Shawangunk Journal serves a small town in a very particular way, so do we.

What we have created is a small town of sorts; even as we are far flung. We look at things differently than mainstream does, or would even allow. We curate, and provide commentary with a distinct point of view. We create cohesive community and invite engagement in ways that change us, and change the world around us.

To be sure, the differences are real. We will never go to a full on paywall. That is not in alignment with our shared community ethos. We do however, see this as a service worth supporting. We do see this as a place where you will get information gathered in one place that you would not otherwise see and grapple with, we do see our commentary and analysis as novel.

Right now, our putative readership is larger than theirs; but our supporter/subscriber/sustainer base is far lower. Three years ago, before the advent of the model they now use, Shiffer and Richman held a barn raising of sorts to wipe away that deficit, and then instituted the model they now use. That model is for the benefit of the community they serve.

So it is with us. We have thought long and hard about the ‘Free-ish’ space we created alongside you, our fellow walkers. Walking takes sustained, and equitable effort.

So does support. Right now, there are fewer than 50 of you who reliably carry this community.

As with Shawangunk, we need more of you to make supporting this space a nonnegotiable part of your praxis.

You can continue to pay a la carte, or you can become a Sustainer (and honor your commitment to this enhanced level of commitment to this community in a reliable monthly way).

We are a community. All of us, as we walk together holding hands need to step up, like the community did with Shawangunk, no matter who we are. No matter how we identify. No matter if the number committed to in your hearts (and or in your Sustainer pledge) containes one, two, or three figures. The number does not matter.

Being here for the long haul does.

In pivoting to the website, we are taking a huge risk in you, in us, in the community we created, and in the various communities we serve singly as individual walkers, bolstered by the collective walk we have chosen to undertake together.

Let’s go the distance.

Support your Community. Walk with Lace on Race.