Thank you.
Digital subscriptions to www.goerie.com grew by a remarkable 20% in 2020, when the news cycle was so ceaseless we needed a leap yearto contend with it.
Reporting aboutthe three major storylines of the year— the pandemic, racial and socialjusticeand the presidential election— helped invitemillions of visitors who contributed to tens of millions of views. But some of the most-viewed items of the year also were about local real estate; business growth and community development; high school sports; education; hunting, fishing and the outdoors;andcrime, courtsand public safety. Photo galleries also got immense attention, connecting viewers to people, places and events they'd otherwise be unlikely to see while observing COVID-19 safety measures.
So to 2020's new digital subscribers, and all those who preceded them, thank you. Your subscriptions, and those of many thousands more printsubscribers, make possiblethe work Times-News journalists do in the community we all share and want to see thrive.
Subscriber support affirms that we're producing local journalismresidents of this region findvaluable enough to pay for. The Times-News has been around since 1888, and online since 1996, but it's a mission wetry to get better at every day.
More:Editorial page mission: Less shouting. Less polarization. More civil, thoughtful discussion
Twenty-five years ago, when goerie.com first came online, the inclination among news organizations was to make all digital contentfree to grow a new audience around it. It spurred competition and innovation and invited disruption, all of which shaped the modern news media ecosystem. As readers migrated online, advertisers moved with them, and Google, YouTube, Facebook and others emerged to compete for those dollars and users. The idea for most news organizations that there was a business model in free didn't last long.
Smart advertising options, in print and online, local and at scale, remaincentral components of what the Times-News offers to those who live and do business in this community. But local journalism requires more than a single source of revenue. It's why for 133 years we've asked for and valued subscriptions. And it's why the online availability of some of our best local journalism is changing.
Starting Monday, many of the types of articles that online readers have told us they value and enjoy the most—investigative and watchdog, longform, business and restaurant news, high school sports features and other unique pieces— will be available only to subscribers. Those pieces will be identified on goerie.com and on social media as "For Subscribers."
The bulk of our work won't be only for subscribers (more on that later). But online and in print, subscribers support work that holds public officials accountable, leads the community conversation about business growth and development, tracks high-interest courtcases and public safety issues and breaks news on entertainment, dining, sports and other topics. In 2020, the year's major storylines aside:
• Matthew Rink tracked the Erie County Community College into existence, giving voice to proponents and opponents and dispelling misunderstandings aboutit* workings including how it will be financed.
Rink:Power outage, viral video, fake social media post made for a wild election week in Erie
• From a $100 million plastics recycling plant, to development on the bayfront, and the latest construction and redevelopment downtown, our Erie Next reporting delivered the latest on the region's renaissance. That included first looks atthe Canalside Townhouse Apartments, the Erie Downtown Development District's $20 million mixed-use planand Scott Enterprises' sky-highOliver's Restaurant.
More:New downtown Erie Insurance building is ready to go, but plans to move in are months away
• The Times-News staff and our contributing writers told you the ongoing stories of Presque Isle, Pennsylvania's most-visited state park.
More:State pays $4.6 million for 18-acre gateway to Presque Isle State Park
• News director Christopher Millette spent a year reporting from— and working on— an Erie County cattle farm, introducing you to the Truesdail extended family and their way of life.
Jack Hanrahan:Remembering artist Vitus J. Kaiser
• Jim Martin and Kevin Flowers examined the largest part ofthe east side of Erie and found a glaring absence —not a single bank. They asked why, and answered why it matters.
Flowers:The faith and compassion of Erie’s Rev. Allen B. Green
Martin:Familiar face, new mission: 'Undercover Billionaire' back in Erie to mentor entrepreneurs
• Lisa Thompson's Q&A with Joan Martin,founder of the Erie County Rape Crisis Center, now known as the Crime Victim Center of Erie County, served as a reminder of the difference a single person can make.
There's far more. Search goerie.com for topics that interest you. Some of those topicsgoing forward willbe for subscribers only. Alot more of our work will remain available to nonsubscribers or subscribers who are not logged in to their goerie.com accounts. Each month, anyone can read two articles for free, and three more by registering an email address, before being asked to subscribe.
Valerie Myers:Grateful Erie woman is reunited with daughter she gave up for adoption 50 years ago
At the same timewe'll make some material available only to subscribers, we'll also gain the ability to make urgent news free to anyone. That might include breaking news about severe weather, public safety orroad closures, for instance.
And, as has been the case since for nearly a year, vital news about the COVID-19 pandemic will remain free to view.
If you are a print subscriber, youalready have full digital access. If you have not activated that part of your subscription, visit goerie.com/subscribenow or call 453-4691. If you're not a subscriber, I invite you toexplore the digital and all-access options.
In advance, and once again, thank you.
Matt Martin is the executive editor of the Erie Times-News. Emailmmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter@etnmmartin.
