TPM is launching TPMPrime, a new members section of TPM for our most passionate and dedicated core readers. Do you visit TPM multiple times a day? Is it a critical part of your news diet? Is TPM important to you? Then we’ve designed this with you in mind. If you’ve already heard enough, click right here to sign up. Otherwise, please join me after the jump to get all the details.
Just so we’re crystal clear: this is not a paywall and never will be. Everything you see here on TPM today will continue to be here free to everyone. That won’t ever change.
This is different.
Google says TPM has three to four million monthly readers. And we thank everyone of them. That’s how we sell advertising and fund the operation. That’s the core of our business. But that’s not our core audience of devoted readers. With TPMPrime we’re building a new part of the site dedicated to those core readers.
What’s in it?
o TPM Singles are long form reports on critical issues we cover at TPM and we think you’ll want to read. It’s our first effort in longer form, deep dive journalism. You read our fast paced reported posts and analysis pieces every day. Now join us as we dig deeper and bring together the big picture. Downloadable to your eReader; viewable ad-free on the site; free to TPMPrime Members.
o Care about TPM? Then join us at Prime’s Editors’ Corner. It’s our standing discussion about the future of the site, where we’ll preview new design concepts and features, discuss the editorial direction of the site and more.
o Staff and Expert Forums: This is your change to participate in regular discussions with TPM reporters and key outside policy experts we talk to every day. Get your questions answered by thought leaders, politicians and policy makers. Chat with TPM Reporters and Editors about the news of the day. Dig beneath the headlines and daily news stories to talk to some of the most knowledgable people in the country about politics, economics, campaigns, what’s happening on Capitol Hill and the White House. We’ll conduct this discussions through online chats and conference calls.
o Members Only Discussion Areas: TPM has the most interested, engaged and knowledgable audience anywhere on the web. And that audience, you, have always been at the heart of our editorial model. It was reader tips and feedback that helped us break the story that won us the first top tier journalism award ever won by a web native news organization. So to build and nurture that core group of readers TPMPrime will feature a special members only discussion forum, free from trolls and flyby commenters.
o Finally, we’ll be bringing you special deals and discounts with many of your favorite magazines, publishers and cultural institutions and invites to TPM Events. And over the coming months we’ll be adding new features to the main site to help you navigate and keep track of all the articles we publish every day.
What does it cost? $50 for an annual membership.
From its inception almost twelve years ago, TPM has been about building something new, constantly innovating, finding ways to build a journalism that is web-native, smart, independent and irreverent. This is the critical next step in that evolution. If you’re a core reader of the site, you’re going to love what we’re building at TPMPrime. But it’s also critically important to the future of the site that you become a member. That’s how we’re going to keep TPM vibrant, growing and hiring the kind of investigative reporting talent you’re going to want to read day in and day out.
Remember, TPM is that rare thing, a truly independent news organization. There’s no big corporation behind TPM, no big foundation, no wealthy family who keeps it running. We have to be as scrappy about building our revenue base as our reporters are at sleuthing out stories. And this is a critical part of not just building but diversifying our revenue base. So I need you to be part of this.
Will you join us? TPMPrime launches on October 15th. We’re signing up Launch Members from October 1st until October 15th. Click here to join us right now.
If you have questions or comments or criticisms or anything else, shoot me a line at the main comments email address up at the upper right. If you have technical questions or you’ve had problems signing up, send an email to tpmprime (at) talkingpointsmemo.com.
