Why We Need You to Become a Scene Supporter, and Why You Should Become One

The TLDR version, real quick, because you’re busy.

You: I know that the ad-supported model of journalism is fucked – it’s volatile and shrinking and only getting worse for publishers. Because of that, reader-supported membership models are essential to the strength and future of trusted local media.

I’m a fan of all or some of what Scene does, and I want it around for a long while, and not in some continuously shrinking version. I’ll contribute at least $10/month (with some benefits coming my way) to the righteous pursuit, because Cleveland needs Scene for another five decades.

And/or I’m the family member of one of the small handful of staffers and I don’t want them moving back home.

Either way, I’m smashing the support button below right now.

Need more convincing?

We have, this week, launched Scene Supporters, a new membership program where we’re asking you, the readers of Northeast Ohio, to help sustain one of the pillars of local journalism in Cleveland.

In the lead-up to launch, I’ve been asked to help articulate why exactly you should join and fork over a few bucks a month (what amounts, at its lowest levels, to less than a Netflix subscription), beyond the benefits we’re offering like free tickets and early access to Scene events.

The immediate gut answer is that I believe in Scene and what we do, and I think you do too.

Why does Scene need your money? Good question.

The short version is that the financial model that sustained Scene has changed. Blame Facebook, blame Google (we do!), but the reality is that the digital ad market has shifted dramatically in recent years and Scene, like so many others, saw revenue declines that led directly to staff cuts. And it’s why Scene, like so many others, is hoping to pivot to a reader-membership model to replace what has been lost and put us on firmer footing.

Why should you give Scene your money? Also a good question.

These asks always come with a full-throated boast that X outlet is producing stories that you won’t find anywhere else. That’s certainly true to various degrees, depending on who you’re talking about.

I’d offer that what’s true about that for Scene is worth paying for (though our content will, of course, remain free to all). We have unparalleled coverage of Cleveland’s food scene. We have stories about Platform’s demise and unrest at United Way and the struggles of Afghan refugees that, quite simply, no one else tackled. We have theater reviews aplenty from the best critic in a town full of theater and little coverage of it. We have snark and a voice. We are a place that, whether you like it or not, can call a councilman a “braying jackass” and back up that thesis. We’ve done investigations that have directly led to the exonerations of the wrongfully convicted, published oral histories on Speak In Tongues and the infamous “Please Stay, LeBron” video, and done deep dives on Michael Stanley’s historic Blossom run and Studio West 117. We informed you Travis Kelce is from Cleveland Heights. We’ve got it all, folks — and we’re beholden to nobody.

A scrappy newsroom with a shoestring budget did all that, punching well above its weight.

What do you get out of joining? You’re on a roll.

These asks also always come with something for you, beyond the good feeling of contributing to the hard and expensive work of producing local journalism.

Maybe it gets you past a paywall to the good stuff of a site that overall feels like the newspaper equivalent of shopping at Krazy Bins. Maybe you want to support community coverage and don’t mind infrequent stories because you dig the mission. Maybe you dig totes. Maybe you get exclusive newsletters.

Here’s what we’re offering you:
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Give $10/month or $100/year

Pre-sale discount to all SCENE events
2 tickets to the Best of Cleveland event (December 2023)

Give $20/month or $200/year

SCENE sticker
Pre-sale discount to all SCENE events
4 tickets to the Best of Cleveland event (December 2023)

Give $50/month or $500/year

SCENE sticker
Pre-sale discount to all SCENE events
2 VIP tickets to the Best of Cleveland event (December 2023)
2 VIP tickets to the Cleveland Ale Fest (Summer 2024)

Sounds pretty good, right?

Why give your money to Scene instead of others? Great question.

I hope you’re in a position to support every outlet in town. It’s vital that we all survive and thrive and do what others can’t or won’t. A well-covered Cleveland is a healthier Cleveland.

But we’re operating at a far smaller scale than the rest. We’re not backed by multimillion dollar grants with a long leash. We’re not part of a national conglomerate with a 70-person staff. We’re your humble, nimble and feisty Scene.

That’s the pitch. We think Cleveland needs Scene. We’d be honored by your support.

Become a Scene Supporter now.

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