In June, we welcomed Lily Black to the team as our membership manager to lead and build out this initiative. Black oversees our readership revenue program for Phoenix New Times and all of Voice Media Group’s publications, which include Denver Westword, Dallas Observer and Miami New Times. She moved to Colorado from North Carolina in 2019 after graduating from the University of North Carolina Asheville with a degree in music business management.
Black has years of experience working in nonprofit fundraising and membership development, previously with Amp the Cause and Swallow Hill Music. Her background in music-centered event management overlaps with her love for the arts, culture and community engagement.
With her help, we are happy to announce a partnership with Mountain Shadows Resort. Support Phoenix New Times by joining as a recurring member before Sept. 22 for a chance to win a two-night stay package. (Once you join, you'll automatically be entered to win.) Our members can also expect more community partnerships like this one, along with members-only events and an ad-free website experience, as a way to show our appreciation. Stay tuned for more details.
About Phoenix New Times’ membership program
From the day it was founded in 1970, Phoenix New Times has been free to our readers. We remain dedicated to providing our local journalism at no charge. How can we do it? We've always relied on advertisers to generate the revenue that make our rent and pay our staff. Most of those advertisers were local mom-and-pops, and their support meant we were able to give our newspapers away.
In recent years, media organizations large and small have been hit by a perfect storm of financial pressures. As readers shifted from print to online, advertising rates dropped. Tech giants began sucking up most of the remaining local advertising dollars. This shifting market has led us to completely rethink how we operate.
We remain committed to keeping our journalism free and avoiding paywalls or mandatory subscriptions. But the long-term challenges that organizations like ours face in generating advertising dollars aren't going away.
We want to keep covering the Valley the way it deserves to be covered. That means remaining independent and avoiding paywalls — but still bringing in enough money to fund our journalism.
Don’t just take our word for it, our membership program got a shout-out from Jimmy Eat World in 2021:
"Phoenix New Times has always been a big supporter of our band. It was a huge deal when a local band got a mention growing up. And now they could use support to continue as an independent source for local news & culture," the band said in a Facebook post.
What’s your reason? I hope you’ll consider becoming a member, and share any feedback or reasons for giving with Lily Black at [email protected].
