How often have you heard, seen, or even said, “Gosh, I wish local media would cover this story.” Or, asking why they aren’t digging deeper into an issue. The answer is quite often very simple: People power. If we had more people, more stories get done, more questions are answered.
At LiveWire Calgary, we believe one of the best investments citizens can make to ensure a better city is to fund local journalism. It keeps the government in check, it provides a platform for the community and it gives a voice to tens of thousands who often go unheard.
That’s why we need your participation. Our work doesn’t get done without folks like yourself driving it. If you’re reading our news even once a week, it’s time to support it.
You’re here for a reason. You believe in better local media. Now it’s a matter of following through on your desire for stronger local news coverage. We’re in a position to deliver it. It’s a small contribution with a huge impact on our community.
The situation in media has changed dramatically in the past several years. Newsrooms are shrinking – in TV, radio, print, even online – and now with the potential fallout from the federal government’s Online News Act, local media could be hurting even more. You’re contribution to the survival of local news insulates us from anything the tech giants can throw at us.
Now’s the time to step up.
No paywall
At LiveWire Calgary, we firmly believe in access to information. Accessibility is critical. Money shouldn’t be a barrier to Calgarians being informed with our fact-based, agenda-free, community-focused local news.
We rely on people just like you to make a single, small contribution (monthly if you want!) to ensure we can survive. If you’re impressed with what we’re able to do now, with a single employee working on a threadbare budget with a group of passionate freelancers… imagine what we could do with your help.
Those who choose to support us monthly get access to exclusive bonus content in addition to our regular news coverage. That’s all handled through our Patreon platform.
If everyone who viewed a story so far this year (As of Sept. 2023: 800,000 viewers, 1.2 million views) contributed $1, just once, we’d have enough funds to sustain our current operation for 10 years. No joke.
If those same visitors contributed just $1 per month we could:
- Fund 10 full-time daily news journalists
- Fund a deep investigation team with two journalists (with research budget)
- Fund 1 full-time photographer
- Fund a dedicated online / social media editor
- Fund an additional assignment / content editor (fact check, work with writers)
- Continue to fund ongoing freelance content
- Fund a small, centrally-located, public-facing street location where journalists come together
… and we’d still have money left over for special projects or community endeavours.
It’s a conversation we’re hoping to have with Calgarians. It doesn’t take much to fund a robust local news team.
If you’re having trouble finding news that reflects your neighbourhood or your community, we understand.
That’s why we exist. We’re here to fill that growing void. To do it, we need members just like you.
Since we launc hed in June 2018:
- We’ve published more than 4,900 stories.
- We had more than 3.5 million million views.
- We’ve touched on more than 109 Calgary communities.
- We’ve enlisted (and paid) the skills of more than 45 local freelance writers.
- We’ve worked with (and paid) 8 freelance photographers
- We’ve published multiple
community contributors
Our single payment option is above. Consider supporting us monthly. Tell your friends and family to join in, too!
Building a new media model
Many of you are familiar with our Patreon crowdfunding
Those who do sign up for the bonus content can find it all through Patreon. It’s a separate location only accessible with a monthly membership.
Many people asked for a single-pay membership option. We listened. We chose PayPal because it’s effective, well-known and trusted. Many of you already use it for your secure online transactions.
Your new membership: Thank you!
The same rules apply here as they do on Patreon. Any membership contribution made will go straight to journalism. It won’t go to operations. That means any contribution you make has a DIRECT impact on the number of stories we can tell.
PLEASE NOTE: We are not a charity, nor are we a non-profit organization or society. Tax receipts will not be issued.
Hit up our editor, Darren Krause with questions.