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Why we need your help now more than ever
Gig Harbor Now had more readers in 2024 than ever before.
Granted, “ever before” isn’t that long of a time. Our nonprofit news publication was founded in September 2021, so we’re only a little more than three years old. But still, our readership growth is objectively impressive.
As of Dec. 9, readers clicked into our stories more than 1.7 million times in 2024. By comparison, we had only a little more than 650,000 page views in 2022, our first full year of publication.
Gig Harbor Now readership since launch.
Journalism with impact
It’s not like we’re putting click bait out there. Our most-read stories of 2024 were:
- Reporter Chris Henry’s look at the issues in the race for Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, featuring Peninsula School Board member David Olson and incumbent Superintendent Chris Reykdal.
- Ted Kenney’s story about the 1,000-Acre Wood property in the Crescent Valley, which is currently available for hiking and recreation but could eventually be built into a Canterwood-style development.
Our story in September about the 1,000 Acre Wood property in Crescent Valley was one of the most-read in 2024.
Here’s the thing, though. It costs money to produce that sort of high-quality journalism.
We rely on community support
Most of our reporters are freelance journalists, whom we pay on a per-story basis. They work hard to bring you stories about your local community. It’s time-consuming, labor-intensive and often stressful work. We believe reporters deserve to be compensated.
And that’s where we need some help — right now, especially.
There’s no paywall at Gig Harbor Now. Advertising and sponsorships provide some revenue, but mostly we run on donations from the community. And right now, we’re running behind.
NewsMatch campaign
During November and December, a coalition of national funders match local donations to participating nonprofit newsrooms. It’s called the NewsMatch campaign, and it is — by far — our most important fundraiser of the year.
During 2024, donations during the NewsMatch campaign made up about 40% of our budget.
With just three weeks left in the NewsMatch campaign, we are less than halfway to our fundraising goal of $75,000.
If you value the stories I mentioned above – or if you used our online calendar, read our free obituaries, appreciated our high school sports coverage or followed us on Facebook – we need your help NOW.
A successful NewsMatch campaign will allow us to continue to produce high-quality journalism in 2025. Can you help today?
Vince Dice
Vince Dice has been the editor of Gig Harbor Now since March 2022 and has worked in local journalism in the West Sound region for 28 years.