We have a new plan.
Grid will NOT transition to an all-digital newsroom. Grid will either survive as a print publication, or it will cease to exist.
That decision was reached after hearing feedback from our readers, some of whom emailed us, some of whom we spoke to at farmers markets. Not a single person was excited about this “new direction” we announced last month. Your feelings reflected ours. Either we exist in the physical world or we walk away.
We feel good about this.
Print is a pleasure, a respite from a relentless digital world. When your new issue arrives and you get cozy on your couch with a coffee or tea, you do it on your terms. We don’t spy on you and tell corporate vultures what your preferences are. It’s a one-on-one analog experience, a physical canvas for words, photos and illustrations that you can enjoy privately. We don’t want to be one more app or website vying for your eyes on a screen.
Unfortunately, romantic feelings about print do not change our financial realities. The business model of providing a free regional magazine supported solely by advertisers isn’t going to magically come back.
To survive, we need our readers’ support and we simultaneously need to deliver enough value to our existing advertisers. We’re walking a pretty fine line.
Beginning in January, we plan to have a hybrid model where we rely primarily on subscribers while still providing some copies of Grid at select locations for free distribution.
To thread this needle, we adjusted our goals. They are, admittedly, high.
Since last month’s issue, well over 100 people have signed up to support us or given us one-time donations. To keep print going, we need 600 additional subscribers to pay either $10 a month or $99 a year.
One avenue of distribution we are keen to keep free is access at the public libraries. Libraries are anchors of the community and our democracy, and they are in every Philadelphia neighborhood. We think it’s important to be there.
We need 54 sponsors willing to offset the costs of distribution to the public libraries at $20 a month.
I recognize that this is a pretty big request, but this is what we need to make it work.
Our deadline to reach these goals will be March 15, 2027. At the very least, there will be four additional print issues of Grid.
We will keep you updated on our progress along the way.
In the meantime, I will be savoring every issue, and I hope you do too.
Sincerely,
