Dear readers: The Eagle needs your help
Dear readers,
Over the past month we’ve witnessed upheaval in our community.
Good, hardworking people have been laid off or furloughed, businesses have shuttered and schools have closed. Normalcy has been replaced by uncertainty.
Through it all, Eagle reporters and visual journalists have worked to keep our readers informed not only through breaking news, but also by highlighting the stories of kindness and ingenuity that are the hallmarks of Kansans during times of disaster. They have done this while also dealing with their own lives and routines being turned upside down.
And readers have responded.
In a demonstration of the importance of local journalism, the combined readership of Kansas.com and the Wichita Eagle has never been greater than in the past few weeks. In that time, we’ve provided all of our coronavirus-related content for free on Kansas.com. It was the right decision as the community came to grips with the pandemic.
But our business, like so many others, has taken a hit. Reporting the news is expensive, and while we have offered all of our coronavirus coverage free to subscribers and nonsubscribers, advertising has withered. This isn’t happening in just Wichita, but nationwide. As people stay home, advertisers are dealing with their own economic crisis.
So going forward, we will continue to make some of our coronavirus coverage available to everyone, but we will begin reinstating a metered paywall on the rest. The stories that are urgent or provide critical information about health or safety will not be behind the paywall, but our other stories will.
For our subscribers, nothing has changed. We deeply appreciate you, and you still have full access to everything on Kansas.com. If you’re not a subscriber, our journalists would love to have your support. Please consider a digital subscription or a print/digital combination.
If you’re already a subscriber, there’s another way you can help: Thanks to a partial matching grant from Report for America, we’re adding a journalist to cover employment and other worker issues in Wichita and another to cover the effects of climate change on our region.
But we need community support to raise the matching funds for these positions. Individuals, organizations and businesses can make a tax-deductible contribution directly to Report for America using the form at bit.ly/EagleRFA. Contributions will directly pay the salaries of these two reporters.
Yet one more way you can help — let us know about stories we should be reporting or questions you have about coronavirus. You can reach our editors via email at tips@wichitaeagle.com.
We know that times are tight for many, that there are several groups looking for help and that not everyone can financially contribute. We understand and thank you for turning to us for your news.
But if you are able, please consider supporting our work. The Eagle has been a part of Wichita for 148 years and our continued survival depends on readers like you.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 11:16 AM.
