The media landscape has been struggling for decades. That’s never been more noticeable to the general public than now. Numerous factors are at play, including decreased advertising, increased cost of business, and buyouts from private equity, among others.

While sustaining independent media should not fall entirely on individuals who love outlets that do good work on shoestring budgets, it’s important to talk about the ways in which individuals can and do make a difference for outlets—those like ours and others, both on and offline. 

How can you support the indie media you love?

→ Buy the subscription. It’s not always possible, and those $5 and $6 month commitments add up quickly. But if you’re able to, make the purchase. Hot tip: become a monthly subscriber, and when you see a discount for an annual membership, spring for it (psst: right now, Book Riot’s All Access annual membership is 15% off in honor of our 15th anniversary!). 

→ Click through the affiliate links: You don’t need to make a purchase. Often, the act of clicking that link is enough to help support the outlet. It’s small but meaningful–and if you do make a purchase, you’ve done even more good! 

→ Engage on social media: In an algorithm-driven environment, each interaction on social media helps. If you liked a story an outlet posted, “like” it or share it. Better yet, comment; you can be as straightforward as “great piece.” You get bonus points for sharing work with your friends and audience. 

→ Explore nonprofit outlets: There’s no shame in media being for-profit (it’s a very common business model!), but there is a whole cool world of nonprofit independent media, too. You can explore local nonprofit news near you through tools like Find Your News. 

One piece of media literacy is understanding who owns the outlets you read and what that ownership says about the stories and direction of the outlet. Some of the best reporting and criticism being done is happening in indie outlets. In an environment where the media continues to consolidate or disappear, we really are at risk of losing critical voices. 

Dive deeper into the current landscape of independent media and how you can help support the outlets you love, whether or not you have spare change. –KJ