Dear Reader,
I’ve made some unexpected purchases for our reporting staff this year.
Masks. Gloves. Sanitizing wipes and hand gel.
Goggles. Helmets. Gas masks. Protective vests.
If I’d planned better, I would have bought some waders, too. None of those things were in my 2020 budget on Jan. 1.
When I asked you two months ago to support our digital news presentation with a $10 monthly subscription, I said those contributions would help MLive journalists provide reporting that is vital to keeping you informed – no matter what the world threw at us.
2020 is taking that to a new level. Michigan’s suffered one of the country’s worst tolls from the coronavirus; was devastated by dam failures and flooding; and now cities are dealing with protests and civil unrest related to the death of George Floyd.
I appreciate the readers who signed on to support this kind of journalism. But several of you also asked a good question: “What does my subscription provide that others don’t get?” The answer was two-fold: First, the subscription was not about unique pieces; it was a voluntary ask during a tough economic period for newspapers.
And, it was the beginning of a process to establish a paying relationship with our readers around our most valuable content.
That becomes more pronounced beginning today, when you will begin to see the best work by MLive journalists marked with an “Exclusive” badge. This starts a process that will end in us reserving our top journalism for MLive subscribers.
For the next month or so, readers will see the “Exclusive” badge on enterprise stories, on topics that are unique to MLive, or on regular features that are “appointment reading” on a certain day of the week.
Current subscribers will be asked to sign in; nonsubscribers onsite who see the “Exclusive” button will be asked to register and learn more about our subscription offers. Neither will be mandatory to view that content.
In mid-July, subscribers and nonsubscribers alike will need to sign in to view exclusive content. Subscribers will have full access; nonsubscribers will be able to read three stories before they need to sign in. All of this is to get all readers used to the logged-in requirement to read our content.
Eventually, we’re going to switch the badge to “Subscriber Exclusive.” At that point, readers who want full access to our journalists’ top work will need to subscribe.
To be clear, there will be a host of stories and other features on our website every day that are available without a subscription. It will be up to each reader to decide the kind of access they want, what kind of reading experience is right for them, and what information has the most importance.
This isn’t a marketing gimmick on our part. It’s a long-overdue move to express the value of the journalism we provide in the most direct way we know how – by putting a price on it. It’s critical to our sustainability.
By subscribing, you are saying this work matters to you, and you actively participate in keeping it viable. You can subscribe now by clicking this link. For answers to questions about subscription options, click here.
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