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 all of Voice Media Group’s publication websites (Denver Westword, Dallas Observer, Miami New Times, Phoenix 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.
Announcing Community Partners
We are happy to announce five local Community Partners. The businesses listed below offer discounts and other opportunities to our recurring members. If you already are a recurring member, keep an eye on your email for how to claim them.
- North Haven Gardens: 10% off regularly priced merchandise
- My Moon Harvest: 20% off your entire purchase coupon
- Offbeat Boxing & Cycling: 3 classes for $18
- IV Nutrition: 15% off your first visit
- Mend Chiropractic (Park Cities location): First-month free membership
If you are interested in becoming a Dallas Observer Community Partner, please contact Black at [email protected].
We are excited to also announce some updates to our program and benefits that will be coming your way soon, like members-only events, an ad-free website experience, membership merch and opportunities for complimentary tickets to our signature events. Stay tuned for more details.
About Dallas Observer’s membership program
From the day we were founded Dallas Observer has been free to our readers. We remain dedicated to providing our reported local journalism to everyone at no charge, regardless of their financial status. How can we do it? We've always relied on advertisers to generate the revenues that make our rent and pay our staff. Most of those advertisers were local mom 'n' pops, and their support meant we were able to give our newspapers away.
For several years now, 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 steeply. Tech giants began sucking up most of the remaining local advertising dollars. This shifting market has led us to rethink how we operate. We remain committed to keeping our journalism free and avoiding paywalls or mandatory subscriptions. But the long-term challenges organizations like ours face in generating advertising dollars aren't going away. We want to keep covering Dallas the way it deserves to be covered.
That means remaining independent and avoiding paywalls but still bringing in enough money to fund our journalism.
We recently sent our members a survey asking why they give. Here are some of the responses:
- “I like knowing I'm getting unbiased information from an independent source, not influenced by a major media powerhouse. Also, I love the focus on food, events, and local talent. I can only take so much bad news. I like reading about local happenings and getting ideas to best spend my time and money. Thanks to the whole staff for all you do!”
- “I've been reading for years. Local reporting is part of the backbone of a free, informed society.”
