We Were So Close! And Then Our Paid Subscriptions Took a Nosedive

Also guilt, fishy CBP numbers, and supporting independent journalism … Read on for The Border Chronicle’s first-ever survey results!

Don’t worry. He’s a professional. (Credit: Getty Images)

Welp, folks, early last month we were soaring when it came to paid subscriptions. Thank you to everyone who responded to our third-anniversary post and subscribed. We were feeling good. We were just six shy of 1,000 paid subscriptions. Triumph was so close; we were about to break out the bubbly.

And then the dreaded “churn” struck. This is when subscriptions come up for renewal. And because we launched in September, our annual subscription renewals come due that month. And that’s when the precipitous plunge began.

Most subscribers don’t know they’ve been caught in the dreaded churn. Credit cards expire, people forget to renew, or they have it on their to-do list, but that list just keeps getting longer. Believe me, we’ve been there too!

And so today, dear reader, we need at least 30 of you to commit to an annual or monthly subscription so that we can reach our 1,000 paid subscribers goal. Could that person be you?

Why such a big fuss about this 1,000 paid subscribers’ goal, you ask? Since we published our first article in September 2021, Todd and I have been trying to make The Border Chronicle our full-time job so that we can bring you more independent news and analysis from the U.S.-Mexico border region. To do that, we need at least 2,000 paid subscribers so that we can pay ourselves a living wage, and pay Steev Hise and Pablo Morales, our audio and text editors. It’s been tough, so far. We’re not so great at asking for money, and it’s been challenging finding the time to apply for grants when we each have multiple jobs. We’d prefer to be focused on The Border Chronicle full time and recruiting other journalists to publish their work with us.

With 1,000 paid subscribers, at least we’d be halfway there!

Today, we have close to 12,000 subscribers and over 85,000 monthly page views, which we are thrilled about. But less than 10 percent of our subscribers underwrite our work. Everything we do at The Border Chronicle is funded by you, our subscribers. This election season, the border is in the news cycle 24/7, and we are constantly being bombarded with false, authoritarian, and dehumanizing narratives, which we are doing our best to counter. But we need your help!

Just two weeks ago, we broke the story that Florida governor Ron DeSantis is reviving his dehumanizing “illegal alien transport program” and targeting the Arizona border this time.

So, if you can, please support our work today for just $6 a month, or $60 a year. Or even better! Become a founding member for $150, and you’ll get two additional paid annual subscriptions and a Border Chronicle tote bag with our cool scorpion logo.

If your subscription has lapsed, you can upgrade from a free to paid subscription or make other changes to your subscription here.

For any questions regarding your subscription, please write to us at theborderchronicle@protonmail.com

For Substack issues or questions, email support@substackinc.com

We also offer group subscriptions for a 20 percent discount per person. If you’d like to arrange a group subscription for your classroom or organization, please click here.

Also if you’d rather not subscribe at the moment, but want to help underwrite our work, you can donate to The Border Chronicle through PayPal.

And now on to our survey results …

Thank you to everyone who filled out our first-ever survey. We know you have lots to do, and we thank you for taking the time. It was incredibly helpful to receive your feedback. It’s been three years of relentless grind, so we thought it was time to check in with you and ask, “How are we doing?”

One of our biggest questions was about our podcast. Awhile back, we were amazed to discover that some people who listen to our podcast have no idea we also have written articles. Mind blown! Two existing Border Chronicle universes—each unaware of the other. If we were more sophisticated—and had more time and resources—perhaps we could bring them together? In the survey, at least 60 percent of you said you’d listened to the podcast, while 40 percent of you have not. Also, this survey question was our clever way of letting you know that we have a podcast! And it’s available to you on several platforms, including Spotify and Apple podcast.

Another thing we wanted to know was how you discovered us. At least 25 percent of you said friends and family. And 36 percent of you said social media. Depressing fact: social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and X, are now burying referrals to news sites, while AI is auto-generating summaries of news articles and not linking to the news sites that created those articles. So we’re like serfs serving under these feudal tech overlords, who have now moved on to robots to replace us.

This means we’re entirely dependent on you for spreading the word about The Border Chronicle and its human journalists. We’re wrestling with what to do about this. Right now, we’re trying to do more community events to get the word out. It’s back to the future—like it’s 1999. Who knows, maybe we will make a zine.

Help us out. Please spread the word!

We also wanted to know why you subscribe to The Border Chronicle. The top answer was to “support independent journalism,” followed by “to learn new things” and “access expert opinion.” Thank you for recognizing the importance of independent voices from the borderlands! Here’s some of the feedback we received on why people subscribe and what they want more of:

“On the ground accounts of the border ‘crisis’ and counternarratives.”

“Accurate and honest reporting about the state of the southern border.”

“Historic big picture from a hemispheric perspective, with role of big banks and corporations exposed.”

We especially love to hear from subscribers who grew up in the border region, like this reader: “I’m from South Texas but currently live in Seattle. Reading The Border Chronicle helps me feel connected to what’s happening back home.”

We also had a very specific request for an article from a subscriber: “An investigation into the veracity of data from BP and CBP, similar to what TRAC at Syracuse University found with its crunching of ICE numbers—ICE’s data was frequently in error. How can anyone trust that the numbers from other DHS agencies are anywhere near accurate?”

We know exactly what you mean! And we’ve got an investigation for you coming out soon, dear reader. Stay tuned!

And a very important question for us was this one: “If you are a free subscriber to The Border Chronicle what would convince you to become a paid subscriber?”

My favorite answer from one reader was “guilt.” As someone (Melissa) whose prime motivation for doing almost everything is guilt, this speaks to me. So if you’re a free subscriber and this post is making you feel guilty about not supporting independent journalism from the U.S.-Mexico border as we’re facing the most existential presidential election of our lifetime—well then, you should become a paid subscriber. And focus that guilt somewhere else, like on your house that needs to be cleaned; your mother, who you haven’t called in weeks; and being less of a flake when it comes to getting together with friends … and the list goes on. But if you hit that Subscribe button, you can cross us off your list!

Also, we know your time is limited. And we want to make a subscription to The Border Chronicle worth your money and time. One idea we’ve had for a while is a Friday news roundup, where we link to important news from local border outlets, and consequential studies, books, and reports, which we share with a bit of context and analysis. More than 70 percent of readers surveyed said they’d like us to add this feature. We’re pleased that you agree with us. Now we just need to find the additional resources and personnel to help us—and you see where this is leading—with your help we can make this happen.

Thank you again to everyone who filled out our survey, and mil gracias for being a reader and listener to The Border Chronicle. We couldn’t do this without you!