We’re unveiling a new way to support Broad Street Review.
It’s incredible to see how much we’ve grown since 2005. Founding editor Dan Rottenberg’s vision was an online nonprofit arts and culture journal featuring voices you couldn’t hear anywhere else. The media landscape, offline and online, was radically different back then. “The Facebook”, originally a way for university students to interact with each other, had launched only a year ago. Neither The New York Times nor The Washington Post had introduced a paywall. The world of blogging was just taking off. And Broad Street Review emerged with contributors from across the country, a Philadelphia site with national reach.
Our work has continued to evolve. Subsequent editors sharpened our focus as the Philly region’s home for arts, culture, and conversation. We have developed dozens of emerging writers and featured many established critics. Our coverage centers inclusion and equity, including disability access. Meanwhile, peer institutions have slashed arts coverage, to the detriment of our communities.
What has also changed since 2005 is the set of options readers like you have to help us do what we do best. Our Friends of BSR program has remained at $5 a month, or one $60 donation a year. Meanwhile, costs (including our web presence, our growing team of dedicated editors, writers, and other professionals, and other aspects of doing business) have risen. Traditional institutional supports are shifting throughout the arts and culture community. Broad Street Review writers deserve to be paid a competitive rate for their contributions.
As we look to the coming years, we’re inviting you to a new program, in honor of our 19th anniversary in 2024: our Local Media Champions. With a $19 monthly gift, you’ll continue to enjoy the benefits of being a Friend of BSR, including exclusive giveaways and free access to special events. In addition, we’ll connect with you and other Local Media Champions for deeper conversations, early access to editorials, and more. If you subscribe at this level for other publications, imagine the impact a similar investment in small organizations like ours can have. Together, let’s keep arts journalism going, and build new opportunities for our staff, readers, and partners—like you.
To be part of this, visit any Donate to BSR link and select “monthly” above the Amount menu, then select Local Media Champion.
Your support matters.
