— by Margie Doyle —
Dear Readers,
As most of you know, as of July 16, we are now sending out the “Headlines” via email to all those who have subscribed with payment to Orcas Issues either through the PayPal “Subscribe” button at the top left-hand side of the site, or by mailing payments to PO Box 582, Eastsound WA 98245.
There are no more “free” subscriptions. HOWEVER, if you have sent us payment through any method, and are NOT getting the daily headlines of all the latest posts through your email, would you please be so kind as to send a quick message to editor@theorcasonian.com, and we’ll make sure you’re on the list of Daily Headline Subscribers.
We’ve been working diligently on this, and thanks to your response, we have increased our paid subscribers by almost 300% since April. Thank you!
That has enabled us to update our technology and to hire two paid summer interns (more about them soon!) It is our pleasure and our passion to inform the community and provide a conduit for us to help and enjoy each other. How many can say that in today’s world? Thank you sincerely!
I have no idea whether or not I am getting your headlines. I am not willing to pay the price of a subscription, but do donate what I can. Am I not getting the headlines? If not, I guess I can’t support Orcas Issues any more, even at the rate I can afford. Let me know, or I guess I’ll will just know because I will be cut off. Not a nice thing.
Elizabeth, thank you for giving us the opportunity to clarify about Orcas Issues headlines. First let me say that you are indeed getting our headlines, which come to your email every day at 5 p.m. Please let us know if you are NOT getting this 5 p.m. email. Perhaps it is going into one of your filters or trash or spam?
Second, we recognize that even $10 a month can be difficult, and so we include on the list people who send what they can, when they can, because we appreciate your support. We also have a voluntary “scholarship” program where, anonymously, people give more than the $10/month in order to help out those who can’t afford $10/month. Neither the donors nor the recipients of these “scholarships” are identified.
Third, it may be useful to know our structure. We’re a business that provides journalism — news, opinions, features, background, and planning. We value the contributions of “our” professionals in journalism, public affairs, graphics, reporting and technology. We pay them market rate for their services, sometimes over time if our budget is tight. We all could be employed more “gainfully” but we are willing to commit to the enterprise of public information because we believe it is crucial to a healthy, concerned and free community.
Elizabeth, in your comment you don’t explain your reluctance to support Orcas Issues as a subscriber, whether it’s a matter of affordability or another reason. One of the unfortunate by-products of our social-media-saturated age is a sense of entitlement to “free” information by consumers, who frequently fail to recognize that such unedited, unverified information is worth what you pay for it.
Although Orcas Issues is a strongly community-minded news organization, it is not a non-profit. The publisher and editors deserve a living wage for their tireless endeavors. My understanding is that significant labor has been donated for some time, and it’s time these efforts are rewarded, even at the present minimal level of subscription.
It’s a business decision to make headlines available to subscribers in furtherance of the goal of providing a living wage to its creators. Because, as was said, affordability is an issue where donors can help. That seems “nice” to me.
To be honest, but not trying to offend: to me the daily headline email is more like a daily “ad” for Orcas Issues like so many of the other reminders I get from so many retailers. I prefer not being reminded every day at a certain time to “sit down and read the paper.” The way my own website-surfing mind works, it’s when my own brain decides, “I want to read the latest news,” that I click on my Orcas Issues bookmark and read the latest on the website.
This doesn’t mean I need you to stop sending me the daily headline, and it doesn’t mean I won’t keep contributing in my sort of sporadic way. Keep up the good journalism, we like it and value it!