Update on the future of Anderson Alerts
Anderson Alerts has 80% of the financial runway it needs for continued operation into 2025. How you can help ensure this Substack doesn't go away.
Dear Anderson Alerts members,
If you value good, contextual, transparent coverage of North Carolina politics and don’t want to see Anderson Alerts go away at the end of the year, the good news is it’s not too late to ensure this Substack continues. But the clock is ticking.
Exactly two months ago, I shared this candid update on the future of Anderson Alerts:
“As things stand, this Substack doesn’t have the financial runway it needs to continue operating into 2025. I don’t run ads. I don’t accept sponsorships. And I’ve never applied for any grants. Put simply: I want this to be a reader-driven enterprise, not one beholden to outside interests.”
When I wrote that, Anderson Alerts was at 65% of where it needed to be by the end of the year for me to continue operating into 2025. Now, exactly two months later, thanks to the support of both new and longstanding members, this Substack has 80% of the financial runway it needs.
To keep Anderson Alerts going, you can subscribe, share or gift a membership here. And rest assured, if this Substack ends this year, I will work to promptly issue pro-rated refunds to paid members who signed up for an annual or monthly membership.
My target reflects a doubling in annual growth that is needed in each of the first three years of operation for this Substack to approach a point of sustainability.
Starting anything from scratch is always a challenge. But since I launched Anderson Alerts in February 2023, I’ve been grateful to see quality reporting motivate people to sign up. And thanks to so many of you, word of mouth has proven to be the single most effective tool that’s kept Anderson Alerts running this long.
I’m someone who’d much rather let my work speak for itself than me speak for it. And I do very much realize that asking people to spend money on journalism these days seems like a losing proposition considering all the “free” news sources that are out there.
But as someone who struggles to articulate the unique value of Anderson Alerts and what folks would be missing out on if it goes away, let me try to lay out the stakes:
If you’ve been here from the start, you were the first to learn about the resignation of Auditor Beth Wood, a congressional candidate accused of an extramarital affair, House Speaker Tim Moore’s controversial appointment of a college friend and sanctioned lawyer onto a commission that disciplines lawyers, the end to a monthslong budget stalemate, state Rep. Tricia Cotham’s 2024 reelection plans, divides within Robinson’s political orbit, revelations of questionable online posts from Robinson, Trump pursuing an NDA from Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2024 election, implications of Hurricane Helene turnout, outstanding votes in the Supreme Court race and so much more.
That is to say nothing of the in-depth, revelatory candidate profiles, comprehensive analyses on redistricting, information on lawmaker absenteeism, aggressive coverage of the impacts and origins of a law exempting lawmakers from the state’s public records law, an overview of key counties and races to watch ahead of the election and a detailed explanation of the recount process that is now taking place across the state.
And again, this is all just since February 2023 from a one-man-band news operation.
So if you come away from this wanting Anderson Alerts to continue operating just as much as I do, here’s how you can help:
Thank you so much for your continued support, time and engagement!
Best,
Bryan