Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season is right around the corner. Soon, we’ll be entering a whole new year. As we wrap up 2014 and prepare to head into 2015, it’s always comforting to take a break and reflect on the things that make us truly thankful.
Here at qnotes, we’re abundantly grateful for the continued support of our advertisers and readers, without which we wouldn’t be able to continue our nearly 30-year legacy of powerful and insightful journalism independently covering the news, arts, entertainment and opinion of importance to our local and statewide LGBT community.
Over our three decades of service, qnotes has committed itself to truly community-centered journalism. Our work helps to raise the bar on LGBT issues, bring awareness to the important contributions of local non-profit groups and leaders, document our collective journey toward equality and chronicle all the highs and lows of life as LGBT Charlotteans and North Carolinians.
But doing this work is more a labor of love and service than an entrepreneurial endeavor. Such is the case with most all niche community news outlets. And none of it is possible without your support.
Our advertisers — some of which have supported us for as long as the paper has been in existence and others for a decade or more — continue to provide important funds to keep the presses rolling, our website up to date and our staff paid.
And just this year, we launched a new voluntary reader giving and subscription program, allowing readers who wouldn’t otherwise benefit from advertising a way to offer their one-time or continued support.
Through our decades-long service, qnotes has remained a free community news service. But producing the news isn’t free. We must pay staff, rent, telecommunications services, production costs and more.
As the 21st-century media landscape has changed, the way news companies pay for the content they produce has also changed. Advertisers have more options, as do readers. In response, some newspapers have begun raising the price of their once-free or cheaper print editions and requiring their readers to buy subscriptions to view online content. We don’t charge our readers for our print newspaper or put content behind a “paywall,” but we do believe that readers have an important place in the production of news and entertainment. A mix of voluntary financial support from readers and the continued support we receive from advertisers can ensure that our dynamic, hard-hitting and insightful news and entertainment coverage continues hitting the streets in print every other week and published online every day.
Our voluntary reader subscription allows you to support the news you’ve come to enjoy and depend on. With your one-time or ongoing monthly support, you make it possible for us to continue our nearly three-decade long tradition of community service. You’ll join our advertisers in helping keep independent, local LGBT media strong for years to come as we explore exciting new options and new content delivery platforms like a re-vamped online presence, audio and video reports, a smartphone and tablet app and more. And, you’ll also receive our special thanks at each giving level — including a special commemorative thank you card, poster and coffee mug featuring photos from our archives and page-one covers from 1986 through the present.
As you gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, and as you consider your year-end holiday giving, we hope you’ll keep qnotes in mind. Signing up as an advertiser or offering a one-time or on-going personal gift can help ensure we continue our successes, like those just last month when qnotes became the go-to source for breaking news coverage as marriage equality came to North Carolina.
Learn more about our giving program and sign up as a reader and supporter at goqnotes-launch2.newspackstaging.com/subscribe/. Interested in advertising? Email us at adsales@goqnotes-launch2.newspackstaging.com for a media kit and more information. : :