A letter instead of a newsletter
Dear Reader,
Since the beginning of July I have been publishing the Middleton e-View newsletter twice a week, and I hope you have enjoyed the coverage of Middleton's local government and reporting of other news, as well as the accompanying analyses and commentaries.
The steadily rising number of readers and the positive feedback have been encouraging, and I will do my best to keep improving the Middleton e-View, and to increase the breadth and the depth of its coverage of what goes on the city of Middleton.
Meanwhile, however, the era of the Middleton e-View as a free newsletter has come to an end. This announcement should not really come as a surprise to regular readers, since I have indicated from the beginning that free sign-ups were going to be temporary.
As opposed to its sister (print) publication, the Middleton Review, the Middleton e-View is not supported by advertising, but needs to rely on reader support if it is to be sustainable.
I don't want to sound pompous or melodramatic here, but independent journalism is a cornerstone of our democracy. On the one hand it is the most effective, and sometimes the only, way to hold governments on all levels accountable to the people, and on the other hand it is a necessary check on the rumors, misinformation and other falsehoods spread via gossip, social media and fringe media outlets of all political persuasions. Independent journalism, however, cannot fulfill its mission without financial resources, and local independent journalism in particular has been in an alarming decline for too many years now.
That is why I appeal to you to help support independent journalism in Middleton by subscribing to the Middleton e-View. For the modest amount of $6/month (or $48/year) you will receive the Middleton e-View delivered to your email inbox twice a week (104 issues per year), with news coverage of the city of Middleton, and analysis and original content that is exclusively available to subscribers.
I will provide details on how to subscribe in the next few days, and the first subscription-based issue of the Middleton e-View will be sent out on schedule on Wednesday, September 30.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely, George Zens