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The survey is closed, but if you’re here and simply must check off boxes and fill out forms, be our guest—the survey is below. Otherwise, enjoy checking out the results.

THE RESULTS

Before we get to the specific advertiser types, I thought it was important to point out two points of data that shocked me. What were almost afterthoughts were two questions that I hoped would help describe people’s attitudes about their own responsibility for supporting their local news sources. The answers were deeply, deeply troubling.

Are you concerned about the decrease in local news reporting locally and nationally?

Yes: 85%,     No: 3%,     Didn’t know a there was a decline: 11%

Are you currently paying for a subscription or membership with a local news source?

No: 85%,     Yes: 14%

These figures show that  a tremendous number of people want more local news coverage, but almost nobody wants to pay for it. And while 75% of respondents said that they thought that people should pay for a Greylock Glass membership (see below), not one person has coughed up a dime since the survey was launched. And since I know exactly how many paying members the Greylock Glass has, that’s a lot of folks who don’t put their money where their mouths are.

My guess is that people assume that somebody else is paying for it. That they’ll get around to pitching in one day, just not right now. It’s funny—no one thinks you can just pour yourself a mug of beer at the pub and pay for it when you feel like it, or maybe never. As delightful as beer is, it doesn’t do for the individual and society what a free and independent press does. It depresses me that when publishers put content behind  paywalls, all of a sudden people whip out their wallets and come up with the paltry sums required to access the articles or podcasts or videos or whatnot. But maybe that’s where the Greylock Glass is headed. Shame, too, since just a fraction of the audience who can afford $5 a month, or even $1 a month could have kept it free for those who legitimately can afford it.

The ADVERTISERS

What kind of a reaction would respondents have if their news source displayed ads from:

Gun Shops

Negative: 44%,     No Reaction: 52%,     Positve: .04%

Tobacco/Vape

Negative: 33%,     No Reaction: 59%,     Positve .07%

Cannabis

Negative: .04%,     No Reaction: 74%,     Positve: 22%

Liquor

Negative: .04%,     No Reaction: 93%     Positve: .04%

Adult Entertainment (Strip) Clubs

Negative: 55%,      No Reaction: 44%,     Positve: 0%

Adult Gift Shops

Negative: 33%       No Reaction: 67%

Political Candidates/Parties

Negative: 52%,      No Reaction: 48%

FAIR PRICE FOR THE GREYLOCK GLASS

Asked what people thought a fair monthly membership price would be for full access to the Greylock Glass, 40% didn’t respond (they probably thought I could track them down—I can’t). But of the people who DID respond:

13%   —   $10
44%   —   $5
18%   —   $1
25%   —   $0.00 (And yet, you keep consuming our content…🤔)

I think it’s so frigging awesome that a full 75% of you think that we deserve to get paid for our efforts! What sucks? Almost none of you are. The coin I earn, I earn as a freelance editor/project manager in other sectors of publishing. Don’t get me wrong, I am so incredibly grateful that I have clients who value my time and skills—I’m spending this weekend working on a project for my favorite one, in fact. But I’d rather be working for you. These numbers explain the situation pretty well, though, don’t they? You have the power to change that.
Become a supporting member right now.

TAKE THE SURVEY!

The Greylock Glass is poised for amazing growth, and needs to determine where the money is going to come from to make that happen. This survey is designed to gather community opinion about supporting news coverage with advertising from certain business types. Thanks for your honest answers!

NOTE: All questions are optional, and you do not have to provide your name or e-mail.

[wpforms id=”9793″ title=”false” description=”false”]

Hello everyone, my name is Eoin Higgins. I’m a writer and historian based in the Berkshires whose work regularly appears in outlets across the country. 

I’m excited about taking this step forward for local journalism in our region!

Eoin Higgins is a writer and historian from western Massachusetts.

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Quentin Palfrey

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Chris Wondoloski, The Hoosac Tunnel Murders

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There is absolutely nothing in my background to suggest I’d end up writing historical mysteries and other reminiscences … or anything else, for that matter. Possessor of degrees both bachelor’s, master’s and then some. Purveyor of information unheard of and uncared about by ninety-nine percent of the population. For thirty-five years my mind reveled in the “if, then, therefore” world of science by day, and dreamed only at night and only to maintain my sanity. But somehow, here I am. The imagination of childhood that had been lost to career-hood, reemerged with retire-hood. And I found myself reborn and living in a fantasy world of my own creation. Life is good.