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View ProfilesPublished March 27, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
This week's Seven Days is about money — a subject that for many evokes fear, envy, shame, all the feels. Some people have more than they deserve; others never get their fair share. That matters because, at least in this country, it's a currency of life. To build something, generally speaking, you need resources.
For example: It costs a lot of money to make this newspaper every week. An army of people — writers, editors, photographers, designers, sales reps, proofreaders, delivery drivers — assembles and delivers the publication. Not surprisingly, our biggest expense is human labor: about $50,000 per issue. Our second-largest expenditure is printing: roughly $10,000 for each edition.
Health care comes in a close third: We pay $25,000 a month so that our employees and their families can go to the doctor. Every year, the rates go up. Then there's rent, legal fees, computers, mileage, web hosting, credit card fees, office equipment — the list goes on.
In the end, the bill comes to somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000 a week. No small change for a free paper.
For almost 30 years, we've made it work — through the crash of 2008, the rise of social media, the pandemic, inflation, floods and the labor crisis. But finding enough revenue each week to finance this effort is a hustle of epic proportions.
Although there's no charge to be in our calendar, art or club listings, we sell advertising space in the paper and on our website — to local clients that are hosting events, looking for employees, offering a product, announcing a change. People buy legal notices, obituaries, class listings, personal ads.
To find more revenue and better serve our community, we've created additional publications such as Nest and our Québec guide, events like the Vermont Tech Jam, and business promotions like the Daysies, our annual readers' picks contest.
I love how the combination of advertising and journalism in the paper reflects our community and the local economy. And I'm immensely proud of our amazing staff, many of whom could probably make more money elsewhere.
I think that people work at Seven Days in part because of the satisfaction we share in producing a great newspaper that helps bind Vermonters together. Everyone plays a part. It's rewarding to know that our work has meaning and impact, whether it's improving attendance at a show or fixing what's wrong at Burlington's Decker Towers.
The love, notes and emails we get from our readers also keep us going.
Since the pandemic, their financial support has helped sustain us, too. Seven Days Super Readers who contribute monthly now bring in roughly $2,500 a week to the company coffers. Major gifts from individuals and foundation grants are also making a difference: Last year we raised $71,000 through our fiscal sponsor, Journalism Funding Partners, to support our work in investigative journalism and civics education; starting in 2024, we are raising money for our arts and culture reporting, too. We netted $30,000 through our Report for America fundraising campaign last spring. Look for the next one soon.
It's gratifying that philanthropists across the country are starting to realize the value of local news and the crucial role it plays in our communities to hold public officials to account, keep neighbors informed and engaged, foster connection, and strengthen democracy. If you're in possession of a donor-advised fund and want to join the ranks of these forward-thinking individuals, please get in touch with me or deputy publisher Cathy Resmer.
Like many small businesses in Vermont, we are struggling mightily. But it's worth the effort — we'd all be poorer with less local journalism.
One recent bright spot was an unexpected check for $5,610 from the State Treasurer's Office for "unclaimed property" — consisting of two payments to us that somehow slipped through the cracks. Treasurer Mike Pieciak delivered the happy news via email. For some reason, the payments to Seven Days hadn't turned up in our prior searches of the state's missingmoney.vermont.gov, possibly because we'd searched for different terms. Of course we'd already looked.
You should, too: As of press time, the state's still holding $119,199,000.
Tags: From the Publisher
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