Hi there,

I just sent an email asking you for money last week, so I’ll give it a rest for a bit after this.

But I need to let you know that I’m worried.

Eleven months in, about 100 people have signed up to support The Bentonville Bulletin financially on a monthly or annual basis — roughly 1% of our audience. That covers about 15% of a full-time journalist’s salary.

There’s a reason that nothing like this has been tried before in Bentonville: it’s hard to collect the right resources and strategy to build a new local newsroom.

I’ll take a call from anyone who wants to help local news thrive, but you should know that The Bentonville Bulletin is not a project of any foundation, government or council. It’s a bootstrapped effort started and run by myself, with copious help from managing editor Heather McCombs.

I know this might sound harsh, but I need to say it:

We’re running into far too many people around town that tell us they “love” what we’re doing but won’t pitch in the cost of a cup of coffee a month to keep it going.

While we deeply appreciate the kind words, the reality is that newsrooms don’t run on goodwill — they run on money.

If you’re not in a place to contribute financially right now, please know that I understand.

But if you’re able to — and you’re sitting on the sidelines — we need you in our court today.

Best,

Sam Hoisington
Founder/Editor
The Bentonville Bulletin