“Independent media, especially cultural criticism, is essential in this moment, with the growing consolidation of traditional media paired with acquisitions from private equity and billionaires more interested in profit than media as a collective good,” says s.e. smith, author and cofounder of The Flytrap.

All of these things contribute to a bleak media landscape. They’re also contributing factors to a mis- and dis- informed public, as well as a space where book bans and attacks on our public institutions of democracy (schools, libraries, and more) are rampant. You’ll have little problem finding out about a “naughty” book because right-wing papers will spread those stories far and wide for free; you will be a lot more troubled in finding information about a budget crisis at a local library or how folks who aren’t local are attacking the collection at a small library because those stories are too frequently behind a paywall.

Despite the challenges and the dwindling budgets we have as individuals, it is crucial to support independent media. Independent media–that is, outlets that do not operate under another banner and/or have funding from a bigger organization–has always struggled with stable funding, given that it has to balance the costs of business (things like web services, equipment, and tiny budgets for staff who are each often doing the work of several full-timers, if they have a staff of more than one at all) with the drying up of opportunities to bring in revenue (subscriptions and advertising). It’s also a reality that we’re in an era with ever more independent outlets available, thanks to newsletter services like Substack, Ghost, and Buttondown that make the subscription model easy for anyone to use. Choice in who you read is great; choice in who you pay for is much more challenging.

“I do have concerns with how the independent landscape is evolving today, mainly that it will become the new corporate media. Substack is the prime example. It started out as a newsletter company, now it’s like this corporate, social media-style company with a billion-dollar valuation,” said Andrew Albanese, cofounder of Words and Money, which uses the open source platform Ghost (as does The Flytrap, above). “I’m wary of a model that is based on taking a percentage of a writer’s income because, once you get investors and private equity involved, that percentage is only going to go in one direction. At the same time, I’m also concerned that Substack thinks it gets to skirt the scrutiny placed on traditional publishers and journalistic outfits, because, hey, they’re just a platform. Well, if you’re taking a cut, are you really just a platform?”

Two years ago, Book Riot launched our own All Access program. Some of our material is paywalled upon publication, with a policy to paywall older content after a certain period of time. There are exceptions–Literary Activism, for example, is never paywalled because it is a crucial part of helping preserve democracy, and that work is deeply enmeshed with our values. We didn’t choose to develop a subscription model because it was trendy or because we wanted to get rich. We did it because we need to maintain our independence, and the media landscape is tempestuous.

In the same way that public libraries and public schools squeeze multiple dollars out of a single penny, so, too, does independent media.

In the same way that public libraries and public schools depend upon people to advocate for them to remain viable, so, too, does independent media.

“Indie media outlets are breaking news and adding critical context to politics and culture, with many featuring staff from publications that closed or downsized,” says smith, noting that this highlights the grim conditions of the media.

It shouldn’t have to fall upon the individual to solve systemic issues. Yet, as we’ve seen in this unrelenting period of attacks on public goods and services, it is the individual who has to do the delicate and time-consuming dance to help save the very things helping sustain our threads of democracy.

“I think it is important for readers to understand how independent media is evolving, just as they understand how Fox News is Rupert Murdoch, or why an Ellison takeover of CBS and CNN might be problematic, or how consolidation in the book publishing industry has created problems. This is an ecosystem after all,” adds Albanese.

But in an era of tightening belts and growing competition for support, how can one person support independent media? Here are some ideas to help you think about where and how you support the outlets you love, including both those that require money and those that do not. Nothing here is genius; instead, it is hopefully a reminder of where and how you can–and do!–make a difference.

Get The Subscription

Every $5 or $6 monthly subscription adds up, but consider where and how you can budget out a monthly or annual amount to support your favorite independent media financially. You may also find that many of your favorite outlets run subscription drives that temporarily lower the cost of an annual membership. For Book Riot’s 15th anniversary, for example, our All Access annual subscription is 15% off. Last month, The Flytrap ran an excellent 30% off sale for their annual subscription. You may also find that subscriptions to one independent outlet come with discounts or bundling options to others, which can get you even more bang for your buck.

One tactic is to subscribe monthly to a handful of your favorites, then upgrade to an annual membership when you see a deal. Those monthly memberships are as valuable as annual ones, even if it feels like your $5 or $6 might not go far. It does! That is money that goes directly to the publication.

If you find yourself torn between supporting your local newspaper and an online magazine you dig, see what your local public library offers. Mine, for example, has a database of Chicago-area newspapers, which includes my independent paper. That means my tax dollars have already been used to help support the local paper; I can use the library’s database to access those stories–which also supports the library, in addition to the paper–and spend the $10 a month toward other indie media. Consider, too, where you might swap out a subscription to a major outlet that you can get at the library with something smaller and scrappier.

Another thing you could do is consider where you gift memberships to friends and family for special occasions. Maybe instead of a physical item for a friend’s birthday, you ask them to share their favorite online media, and you gift them a subscription. For Father’s Day several years ago, I purchased Patreon memberships to three of my husband’s favorite podcasts, and he’s regularly said it is his favorite gift–he gets to use it all the time, knows his favorite creators get some cash. There’s no debating where to put the thing in the house.

Money challenges are real, but where and how you have a little cash you can put toward doing good, memberships to independent media make a real difference, not only to what you read but to the kind of powerful work not being done elsewhere.

Cite and Reference Independent Outlets

One issue many writers at independent media outlets face is that their work doesn’t receive the citations or references it deserves when bigger outlets cover the same stories. It’s common, and it raises questions about the ethics of outlets that don’t bother to Google before writing a story (or who do Google, then heavily borrow from original reporting without properly citing it).

A way to push back is to seek out those smaller outlets and cite and reference them as much as, or more than, well-known brand media. Want to share a story about something on your social media? Find the smaller outlets that have covered it and share those.

Bonus: you may have first seen the story in a major outlet, but then as you poke around a bit, you discover a whole new world of interesting independent outlets covering the topic with more depth and expertise. You learn new places, you share new places, and you help encourage these outlets to continue doing that work.

If you feel like pushing back in this area, you can always write a letter to the editor of a major outlet and ask why they didn’t cite the work of [fill in the blank] creator, who broke the story earlier and added far more nuance and context, as it’s their area of expertise. You likely won’t see it printed, but that pushback at least makes clear that people are paying attention–and perhaps it will push that outlet to do better because they know readers see there’s more out there.

Turn Off Your Ad Blocker

Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, the internet is covered in advertisements. Yes, sometimes those advertisements can impact the reading experience on any given website and change depending on the device you’re using. But many outlets depend upon an advertisement loading on your device, and many of those same outlets set standards for the types of advertising you’ll be served. You will likely see content related to the site’s content, rather than ads for political candidates, diet pills, or other things that don’t fit the site’s mission or beliefs.

That isn’t to say you shouldn’t let an outlet know when the advertising is a misfire or is causing real difficulty reading (such as a pop-up that’s impossible to close). It’s probably not being done on purpose, and the staff may not be aware, and/or their devices may not mirror the experiences on yours. This kind of feedback can be helpful.

You don’t have to click the ads. Just let them load. Clicking when you see something of interest is the cherry on top.

Click Through Affiliate Links

Similarly, there’s no secret that many independent outlets depend upon affiliate revenue to keep the lights on. What those links are varies from outlet to outlet (for years, Book Riot relied only on Amazon, but we now use affiliate relationships with several places, so depending on where and what you click on, the partner may change). But if you’re in the market for whatever the item is linked to, it is helpful to click the link. Even if you don’t ultimately end up buying the item or buying through that particular link click, that’s okay–like advertisements, that action of clicking itself makes a difference.

Another way you can help a favorite outlet is to plan purchases with their affiliate links in mind. For example, if you’re planning on doing some holiday shopping through Amazon (feel however you wish about the site, but many organizations host their wish lists there and for some, it is the most affordable option out there not only in terms of money but in time and energy), go to the outlet you want to support and click one of their Amazon affiliate links before you begin your shopping. You don’t have to buy the specific item you’re clicking on. Amazon drops a cookie as you browse, and when you check out, the organization will get a (tiny) cut of the sales.

Double Check Your Sources

Several outlets look independent and do hyperlocal work–something the landscape is genuinely missing. But take the time to investigate where and how they’re doing that work. Many of these outlets aren’t actually human-focused at all. They’re platforms built on the output of Artificial Intelligence. Skip those. Find instead where the AI is pulling from and go directly to those sources instead (for example, there’s one AI outlet that regularly highlights school book bans, but all it is doing is pulling from school district board meeting videos, agendas, and minutes; going back to the source material has often led to learning there is no actual ban happening). Here’s a handy guide to checking your sources.

It should be said that ChatGPT isn’t a search engine, a news source, or independent media. It’s an AI tool built on the stolen and uncompensated work of other people, and it is packed with the exact biases that have created the problems of mainstream media. Fake news that privileges white supremacist ideals is free and abundant and feeding these machines.

Discover Local Nonprofit News

Media that seeks profit isn’t inherently bad. Media conglomerates that slurp up local outlets, alongside private equity interests*–sometimes these are the same–are at issue.

But one type of media that’s particularly interesting and worthy of supporting is nonprofit media. Nonprofit media operates with a public service mission, often doing deep dive work into a specific area that doesn’t get the attention it deserves in the mainstream. A couple of nonprofit outlets I frequent include The Marshall Project, which covers criminal justice (including excellent work on prison censorship), and ProPublica, which does deep investigative work in support of the public good.

You can see what local nonprofit media exists near you through the Find Your News tool. Not only can you search via location, but you can also find nonprofit outlets that cover specific topics of interest.

Engage On Social

Independent media is all over social media, thanks to an environment that requires not only good reporting and writing but also good skills in publicizing that writing. Most small outlets have staff wearing multiple hats, so alongside writing, they may also be scheduling and responding to social media posts.

One way you can support your favorite outlets is by simply engaging with their social media posts. A like matters. A comment about how much you enjoyed a story matters. Responding to other comments, either to push back against mis/dis information or to continue a conversational thread, helps those social posts grow in the almighty algorithm.

When I talk about the growth of book bans, I always note that in 2021 and 2022, groups coordinating book-banning efforts were able to ride the algorithm. They’d post a panel from, say, Gender Queer that might be surprising out of context, then encourage angry reactions and responses, which would push that post and others like it further into everyone’s algorithms. They were able to flood feeds with these stories and capitalize on people’s shock–conveniently aided by links to free news or opinions they’d written in other outlets that furthered their points.

We have the power to do this with the algorithms of various social media outlets, too, and we can use it for good.

Share With Your Networks

“Obviously joining as a member is an amazing way to support us, but so is recommending to friends and encouraging people to support the independent media system overall,” says smith, who points to Ravenous, Autonomy News, 404 Media, Hearing Things, Burns Notice, Defector, The Handbasket, Welcome to Hell World, Aftermath, and COYOTE as personal favorites.

Find something you love on independent media? Sharing really is caring. That sharing can take the form of posting on social media, of course, but it can also take the form of sharing those outlets doing work you think is great. Some of it might be behind a paywall–see above for all the reasons why–but it is true that mere exposure to the thing and the promise of a good story behind that paywall can convert people to that monthly subscription to try it out. And if you are a subscriber to that outlet, chances are you can gift that story, which exposes readers to the outlet and may make them willing to take that chance. If all they do is read that story, that’s no loss either; it’s good, thoughtful work being done by folks on the ground utilizing the limited resources at their disposal as part of an indie outlet.

As readers, perhaps the thing to think about at the end of the day is where and how you share your favorite books. Certainly, talking about big, buzzy bestsellers is something you’re going to do because those books are in the zeitgeist. But chances are, you have a favorite book, publishing imprint, or author that isn’t getting as much attention as books, authors, or publishers with money and machines behind them. How do you talk about them? Where do you talk about them? Those tools are just as meaningful and powerful for independent media.

Not everything you do will lead to a social media moment like, say, the time a Twitter user named bigolas dickolas went viral for talking about how great This Is How You Lose The Time War is. But that example is a potent one for the potential to do good by sharing the good–even if you reach the eyeballs of 10 engaged social media followers, those 10 people can share with 10 more people, and so on and so forth.

We just have to do the thing (or things!) in order to support the work we love.

*Here’s your recommendation to read Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream.

Book Censorship News: October 2, 2026

• Last week, Florida’s Education Commissioner demanded public schools in the state pull thousands of books proactively, and as part of that demand, he singled out Hillsborough County Schools for having books he’s deemed inappropriate still on shelves. You’ll never guess what happened next! Hillsborough reacted by banning The Bluest Eye, among other titles. That link may be paywalled, but this one lists the titles Hillsborough immediately removed. All are titles pointed out in the memo.
• Pinellas County Schools (FL) have also decided to act on the memo from the state, removing numerous books from shelves named in it. Florida Freedom to Read Project points out that “99.6% of Pinellas students have ZERO parental restrictions on their access last year and the last citizen objection was about a year ago to a picture book.” It’s the state forcing the school to do something the people don’t have interest in.
• Remember in the spring that Watertown High School (WI) banned a song from the band concert because of its ties to LGBTQ+ history? They’ve now banned the school musical Flashdance.
• Although the headline to this piece suggests the piece was written in 2021 and not, in fact, 2026, this is a great look at the sneaky signs MAGA is taking over your local schools.
• The state of Utah has decided that because Davis School District sees so many book challenges, they don’t need to publicly discuss appeals decisions. This is one more way they don’t need to be accountable to the public.
• “House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, is promising an “immediate legislative response” after the Wake County Public School System stopped accepting challenges seeking the removal of library books that are not being used for classroom instruction.” Remember, “leaders” like Jones prattle on about “local control,” but the GOP doesn’t mean local control when they set laws like this. They mean they get to decide everything locally, not the locality itself.
• Detroit Lakes Public School District (MN) is being sued for its new policy banning rainbows (all rainbows) and Pride stickers.
• Despite passing a law to slow down and create uniformity when it comes to what books are denied inside prison libraries, California’s prisons continue to ban and remove access however they wish.
• St. Tammany Parish Library (LA) updated their collection policies this week, giving the board more freedom to remove materials they deem “irrelevant” to the community’s needs and interests. Seven books previously restricted in access remain that way.
• Oregon’s State Library, which has a clearinghouse which tracks book challenges in the state, saw a 20% rise in documented book challenges over the last year.
• This story is paywalled, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments this week in the lawsuit brought against Escambia County School Board for banning And Tango Makes Three.
• Authors who were invited to be part of Los Angeles Public Library’s “Read Palestine” event–which was canceled–have now filed a lawsuit.
• “The Central Arkansas Library System board has voted to fund the legal defense of its employees if they are charged under a state law concerning obscene materials in libraries after an appeals court reversed a lower court ruling blocking the state from enforcing a section of the law that made librarians criminally liable.” Recall that in cases where librarians have sued over wrongful termination for refusing to ban books or programs, they’ve won. This is something that the CALS shouldn’t have to do, but it’s a good move in the face of the state’s now-enforceable, incredibly-vague book banning law.
• The University of Illinois’s student newspaper ran a must-read editorial from the editor of the Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville) paper. It’s about the ways that SIU’s leadership has tried to silence the student paper and the importance of supporting a free press.
• Comal Independent School District (TX) has removed Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson from school libraries.
• Melinda Beatty, whose picture book What Is A Pirate? was uninvited from an elementary school visit in Frederick County, Maryland. The reason? The principal had “concerns about the content of the book and how it might be received by conservative members of the community.”