我是当地一家非营利组织的通讯委员会主席。 在最近的一次董事会会议上，我提出了支持我们当前筹款活动的想法。 While sharing some analytics about which local news outlets were most effective for driving website traffic, I noted how stories covered 通过 补丁 consistently were top performers for another organization I advise.
One of my fellow board members suggested it might be because 补丁 doesn’t charge a subscription fee when others do; and then she said, “It’s really off-putting for people when they click on a link to a story and there’s a paywall.” (Cue the record scratch sound effect.)
Admittedly, she walked back the word “off-putting” right away, and I know it’s not really what she meant. Frankly, most (if not all) of us regularly bail on articles or search for another source once we hit the “You’ve reached your limit” pop-up. 话虽如此，这是一个悲伤的提醒，提醒我们在2023年，有多少人不感兴趣或根本不愿意为新闻付费。
The particular news site we were talking about, 乡村绿地, charges $55 a year for a subscription. In exchange for $4.58 per month, we get two professional journalists and a team of freelancers covering our hyperlocal news — elections, crime, the schools, neighbors, township rules and regulations. 他们在做这一切的同时，也以我们公司从为更大的机构工作的记者身上看到的同样的谨慎和正直行事。
We always tell clients when they’re writing op-eds, don’t just state the problem, but offer a solution or a call to action. 所以，我在这里敦促大家思考一下本地新闻在你生活中扮演的角色，以及你能做些什么来支持把新闻带给你的媒体。
考虑采取以下一个或多个行动：
- 订阅至少一家当地新闻媒体。 我很感激我们订阅的服务越来越多，你可能正试图简化其中的一些成本。 地方新闻不是多余的服务。 Local outlets cover what’s happening in your backyard like no television station or regional newspaper can.
- 赠送订阅的礼物。 不知道给当地的新闻迷朋友或刚毕业的大学生送什么生日礼物好？ 也许你知道有人要搬走了，但仍然有兴趣关注新闻。 订阅订阅是一份非常贴心的礼物，你会觉得很开心。
- 捐赠订阅。 联系 your local news outlet and see if there’s a way to donate a subscription. In my community, 乡村绿地 offers free or subsidized subscriptions to people who can’t afford them and I’m sure they’d appreciate benefactors. You can also check with your local library, school, community center or senior center to see if they’d benefit from a subscription.
- 与当地媒体联系。 当地记者是你的邻居，你可以和他们建立关系。 给他们写封感谢信，感谢他们的报道（选举周期是这样做的好时机！） 他们收到了很多抱怨。 用赞赏的音符来平衡。 在社交媒体上关注新闻媒体，并参与他们的内容，以帮助扩大它。 点赞、评论和分享越多，就会有越多的人看到和阅读他们的故事。
- 提供财政支持。 人们通常认为广告商会支付新闻内容制作的全部成本。 虽然这种经济模式曾经是正确的，但现在已不再可行。 If you own a business or are involved in a nonprofit, think about how you can partner with your local media to support your organization’s goals. 当然，你可以购买广告，但也有其他合作方式，比如赞助文章和电子邮件、活动参与和付费社交媒体。 当地新闻通常比全国性的新闻更有目的性，这使它成为接触人们的好方法！
在这个问题上自我教育
有几个组织致力于支持全国各地的地方新闻媒体。 他们的网站、电子邮件通讯和社交渠道都是很好的信息来源。 Check out 美国新闻计划 to educate yourself on the decline of local news (spoiler alert: 2,100 local newspapers have closed) and the implications for our communities — and society — when there is no objective reporting.
And, next time you hit a paywall, instead of grunting in frustration, perhaps you’ll think about the people who produced the news that caught your attention and consider supporting their work.