from the support-independent-journalism-now dept
If you’ve been following along, you know why independent voices matter right now. The administration has been attacking institutions left and right. News orgs, law firms, philanthropic funders, universities, you name it. Many are capitulating. But not us. Someone needs to step up and keep doing this work without flinching and without compromising.
That’s where you come in.
We need your support to keep going. And because we wanted to try something different—and because we’re genuinely grateful—we’re offering everyone who backs us at $100 or more by January 5th our very first commemorative coin celebrating 30 years of Section 230.
This is an experiment inspired by Hank Green’s brilliant Crash Course yearly fundraiser, where they sell a limited edition coin. For years here at Techdirt, supporters at any level have gotten an “Insider” badge on their Techdirt account. Think of this coin as that badge’s physical form. If it goes well, we’ll make this an annual thing with a new design each year—so don’t miss the first edition.
Look, if you’ve been reading Techdirt for any length of time, you know we basically never do this kind of direct ask. Most sites—even good independent ones—are drowning you in ads, paywalls, registration walls, or those guilt-trip popups that make you feel like you’re personally bankrupting a journalist every time you open an article. We’ve avoided all that because those tactics are fundamentally hostile to the community we’re trying to build. We want you here because our work matters to you, not because we made reading anything else impossible.
But we also know that often independent news sites need to do those things to build enough support to survive. We’d really prefer to stay away from those kinds of anti-community gimmicks. We want people to read and share our articles. We want people to be able to read our site without feeling like we’re just looking to make money off your attention.
The trade-off: if we’re not going to manipulate you into paying, we need to actually convince you that this work is worth supporting. And this year, that case basically makes itself.
This year has been the toughest in Techdirt’s history. We’ve taken an uncompromising position on democracy. And we think that’s the right stance. But it’s certainly harmed the bottom line. Historically, Techdirt has always been a bit of a loss leader for other work: events, research, games, and more that we seek out grants and sponsors for in order to support our ongoing work.
This year, we had multiple organizations pull back on planned work. They were candid about why: the administration’s focus on punishing dissent meant they couldn’t risk putting a target on their backs by sponsoring us. Which, frankly, tells you everything you need to know about the current environment—and exactly why voices that won’t cower are critical right now. We made a choice to cover what matters over what’s safe. That choice has real costs.
And so we need your help. Techdirt has long had some really cool ways to support us, even if we’re not as in-your-face about promoting it. Donating any amount via the Friend of Techdirt donation page gets you an Insider badge on your profile and comments, and if you give over $100 before January 5th, we’ll send you this amazing coin next year!
Our Insider Shop also offers subscription options from the Crystal Ball (which gets you early access to some of our articles) to the Behind the Curtain option, our premium package of Techdirt perks. And we’ve got a bunch of other ideas lined up for next year to bring supporters even more value that isn’t about walling off our key stories that you come to Techdirt for.
The path forward is clear: we need to build direct support from readers to a level that makes us less dependent on sponsors who can be pressured into silence. Other independent sites have proven this model works. We just need to get there.
If you think this kind of coverage matters—especially right now—back us. Get the coin if you want. Or don’t. But help us keep doing this work without compromise.
Filed Under: challenge coin, coins, commemorative coin, fundraising, journalism, support
Companies: techdirt
