Celebrating six years of COURIER
Pioneering a model for pro-democracy media when it’s needed most
Six years ago, I launched COURIER with a vision to build a media company that could go on offense by reaching Americans left behind by traditional media and the consultant-entrenched political establishment with informative and thumb-stopping news and lifestyle content that would spark increased civic participation. Today, I’m proud to say that COURIER stands as one of the fastest-growing news networks in the United States, with a demonstrated record of success in audience growth and civic impact, at a time when informing and inspiring Americans has never been more important.
As we are all reeling from what’s happening in Washington right now - where hundreds of MAGA-fetishizing Republicans have chosen to sell out the American people in order to hand billionaires more tax breaks, our team at COURIER is more determined than ever to fight back with good, honest information and content that will mobilize a powerful opposition.
I know I’m a bit biased, but COURIER’s growth has been nothing short of extraordinary. A few weeks ago, our network surpassed 7 million combined social media followers and email subscribers, a testament to our team’s ability to connect with audiences where they are: in their email inboxes and on their favorite social platforms. Over the past year alone, COURIER has more than doubled its audience size and is now averaging hundreds of millions of monthly content impressions and post views on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
Here are just a few of our topline wins over the past few years:
Our 11 state newsrooms were among the first local outlets in the industry to invest in TikTok, serving news content to Americans often overlooked by elite media companies. We now have some of the largest audiences on that platform among local newsrooms in the states.
Our local newsletter network has become the nation’s third-largest in the country, after Patch and Axios Local, and is primed for further growth. With nearly 2 million active subscribers across ten state-specific editions, our newsletters consistently achieve above-industry-average open rates, underscoring the trust and reliance readers place in COURIER’s reporting.
Our on-the-ground reporting has shaped the political conversation in our states, exposing corruption and hypocrisy and educating voters about down-ballot elections that typically receive little to no coverage. Our journalism has become source material for both the mainstream press and political advertisers.
As a result, our local reporters have earned numerous awards, including honors from the North Carolina Press Awards, Michigan Press Association, and the Arizona Press Club.
Our national brand has become one of the most engaged news accounts on TikTok, surpassing CNN, and has rapidly built a large, highly engaged audience on Instagram and Facebook.
We’ve begun to diversify our revenue model, including scaling a grassroots fundraising program that has received support from over 20,000 donors across all 50 states.
Most importantly, COURIER was a strategic first mover in targeting and engaging the audience everyone on the political Left is talking about these days: news-avoidant Americans. Whether they’re referred to as “passive news consumers,” “news avoidant,” or “casual voters,” we recognized in 2019 that reaching this core group would determine the future of our democracy. Since then, we’ve been laser-focused on listening to and learning from these audiences, understanding what content resonates and analyzing how they respond to our journalism.
During key election cycles, COURIER’s newsrooms have provided pro-democracy coverage and critical voting information to these audiences, helping them navigate complex issues and make informed decisions at the ballot box. But unlike campaigns, our work isn’t limited to election cycles - our reporters are covering the issues and stories that impact our communities every single day, year-round. Along the way, research has validated COURIER’s model, showing measurable increases in civic engagement among our readers.
As COURIER celebrates six years, our journey is far from over. The media landscape is constantly evolving, and I believe our team’s willingness and ability to adapt is the secret to our sustained impact and relevance.
I’ll close by saying thank you to each of you who have joined us on this journey, whether as a reader, subscriber, follower, or donor, and to ask humbly for you to forward this post to your own community so we can grow this media ecosystem we are building even faster. Together, we are building a more informed and engaged electorate, one story at a time, and it is through these stories that we will build the opposition we need to fight back against the forces that seek to silence and oppress us - and win.
Happy Independence (from tyrants) Day to you and yours.
Tara
P.S. If you are actively looking for ways to fight back against the horrific budget bill that is about to pass the House of Representatives, we have a plan to get the over 500 original stories our newsrooms have reported on the local, devastating impacts this bill in front of more tuned-out audiences. Shoot me an email (tara@goodinfo.us) and I’ll send it your way. The time to inform voters about this bill, and who is responsible for it, is now, not in 12 or 15 months.
You’re invited:
Next Thursday, July 10th, I’m so excited to be participating in a virtual conversation with a personal journalism hero of mine, legendary journalist Judy Woodruff to talk about COURIER and the information crisis in America. The virtual event will be hosted by BigTentUSA and moderated by another journalist I admire, Rachel Janfaza. This should be a great time. RSVP here to join us!
What I’m reading this week:
New Polling Highlights Media Challenges for Dems Around Budget Bill (Priorities, 06/30)
“Nearly half (48%) of Americans haven’t heard anything about the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’ Even among the 52% who report hearing anything, a significant number – 40% – only mention generalities or its status in Congress. More respondents have heard specifically about cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and health care generally than any other aspect of the legislation. And yet, only 8% of all Americans name Medicaid cuts as a detail of the bill they have heard about.”
Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit (NYT, 7/2)
“Paramount said late Tuesday that it has agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” an extraordinary concession to a sitting president by a major media organization.”
Substack Is Having a Moment—Again. But Time Is Running Out (Wired, 6/27)
“While I love the idea of liberated journalists speaking out, the fact is that compared to a bundled package known as a publication, the lone-voice model monetizes by delivering full content only to patrons who can afford it. It’s a downside for writers, who typically want to reach wider audiences.”
Why Gavin Newsom can’t stop at simply trolling Fox (Salon, 6/30)
“A single screenshot could cost Fox News hundreds of millions of dollars — unless primetime host Jesse Watters retracts his false reporting and apologizes on-air to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.”