We were down, but not out, in August
by Melanie Jongsma, Managing Editor
LANSING, Ill. (September 2, 2020) – I want to personally thank you for your patience this month. And your support.
In early August, some minor technical difficulties led us to upgrade The Lansing Journal’s hosting plan—which should have not only solved those issues, but also improved site speed and load times and the general online experience for our readers. Instead, things got worse. Our site went down, we lost some posts, the backups could not be restored, and members had trouble getting the site to recognize them.
So we made a bold decision to invest in a much more robust (and expensive) host company, one that is built specifically for news publishers. It’s a big investment for The Lansing Journal, but this company understands “how vital it is for hyperlocal news outlets to have user-friendly, high-performing websites.” That’s exactly what we want for our readers, visitors, and advertisers.
We were able to make this decision because we have a network of supporters who regularly invest in The Lansing Journal. You invest in our reporters and their stories, yes, but you also invest in the digital infrastructure that ensures those stories get posted, delivered, visited, and archived. Thank you.
You kept us going—and growing
The people listed below gave money during August so that we could pay our reporters, publish their articles online, deliver them via email, and eventually upgrade our web host so that we can offer readers and advertisers even more reliable service. Will you join us in thanking these supporting members of The Lansing Journal community?
- Lindsey and Saad Abbasy
- Karen Adams
- Judith Beezhold
- Barry Bergstrom
- Susan Bovino
- Maryann Centracchio
- Laurel Clausing
- Elly Clousing
- Greg and Jane Compeau
- Marlene Cook
- Diane Costello
- Denise Cox
- Kerry Czarobski
- Lauragene Davia
- Christopher Deckinga
- Toni DeLaurentis
- Debbie DeNardo
- Sandy DeVries
- Barb Dust
- Rich Dust
- Roseann Dykstra
- Frank Fetters
- Marilyn Freeman
- Tina Funchion
- Jacob Gourley
- Patty Grigutis
- Lawrence Grzywinski
- Joyce Haak
- Ted Hnatusko
- Marjorie Holme
- Mark Hornung
- Jim Janssen
- Patricia Jaracz
- Melanie Jongsma
- Jean Klacik
- Karen Kleine
- Pat Kremer
- Pamela Lancy
- Jim and Suzanne Long
- An old friend
- Kathy Maanum
- Kathleen Maanum
- Robert Malkas
- Tom McSwiggan
- Roberto Mendoza
- Christine Merchat
- Nauta Enterprises
- Mary Beth Palka
- Thomas Panichi
- Vivian Payne
- Moira Peterson
- Richard Podgorski
- Rosemarie Polgar
- Jay and Chris Popp
- Joanne Pritchard
- Jean Qualls
- Penelope Rellis
- Jane Roseen
- Jennifer Saia
- Bev Sanders
- Carol Schaap
- Peter Schurman
- Dave Schurman
- Irene Sepiol
- Slaughter & Associates
- Michelle Smith
- Kelsee Stallinga
- Tara Stewart
- Carol Taylor
- Linda Todd
- Friends of The Lansing Journal
- Frank Trichak
- Virginia Ulaszek
- Leo Valencia
- Carl and Janet Vander Molen
- Phyllis Warsen
- Waters Edge Aquascaping
- Robert Wood
- Patricia Yos
- Chris Zdanowski
Investing in local news
Having made it through a difficult month, we are excited about the future. We are already working on articles about our local public and private schools, the upcoming elections, chimney swifts in Lansing, race relations, new COVID information, the historic Ford Hangar, and more. If you’d like to invest in this kind of community-building news, we’d love to have your support:
Can you suggest what you would consider to be a “subscription price” for families like mine who read the LJ daily?
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for asking! We appreciate knowing that you read the Journal daily and that you value the service we provide.
To give you some context for your giving decision, I’ll share a couple of our expenses that have the most direct impact on reader experience: We pay our journalists $60 per story (although we know they are worth much more than that), and our email delivery service costs about $64 per month.
We included a range of prices in our monthly subscription options because we want people to be able to give at whatever level they can. (You can also type in your own amount if you prefer.) We appreciate your support, and thank you for asking the question!