The small cost of an independent press
Whitstable Views has been going since 2009 and has always been free to its readers, but it is not free to produce.
Among our costs, for instance, there is the annual subscription of £16.00, plus £3.20 VAT for the domain registration, and a biannual subscription for premium services from WordPress, the hosting company, of £132.00, plus £26.40 VAT.
The total cost of that is £177.60.
Here is the latest bill:
Up till now the Whitstable Views team has covered all costs in order to bring you “locally-based news, views and reflections from the North Kent coast” for free.
We are proud of having a number of notable successes.
It was Whitstable Views which was the first to break the story of the Water Bills Boycott, Nov 10 2021:
Since then we have covered a number of stories around the Boycott. Often we are the first to do this: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/boycott
We also gave extensive coverage of the public inquiry around the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company trestles that have blighted our coastline in recent years. Unlike other platforms we were able to give the actual evidence as it was presented to the Inquiry, as opposed to a summary:
https://whitstableviews.com/tag/public-inquiry/
We were also the first to highlight the incompetence of our MP, Rosie Duffield, in a viral story, Rosie Duffield’s “Brand” Collapses on June 3 2020: https://whitstableviews.com/2020/06/03/rosie-duffields-brand-collapses/ So far this story has garnered in excess of 40,000 views.
Other notable stories include Why Canterbury & Whitstable needs a new Labour M.P. Jan 20 2022, a whistleblower’s piece from a Labour Party member within the constituency, which was picked up by the national press; and The Flags of Oyster Hollow, “A Modern Fable For Uneasy Times” by Anthony Rix, about the recent spate of flag-raising in our town.
Since 2021 we have had 383,000 views, 227,000 visitors, 114 likes and 248 comments.
We have also played host to a number of talented writers, including:
Julie Wassmer: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/julie-wassmer/
Hugh Lanning: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/hugh-lanning/
Stuart Heaver: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/stuart-heaver/
Frankie Green: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/frankie-green/
Steve Andrews: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/steve-andrews/
Diane Langford: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/diane-langford/
Christine Tongue: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/christine-tongue/
Ashley Clark: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/ashley-clark
& CJ Stone: https://whitstableviews.com/tag/cj-stone/
Plus we have run photo stories by Gerry Atkinson and Andrew Hastings.
We have offered free advertising space to a number of local businesses and shared news of local charities and their appeals. We have covered stories about the carnival, about May Day and about other seasonal festivals. We have written film reviews, book reviews, music reviews and obituaries. We have advertised upcoming events. We have covered the Palestine issue extensively, and given notification of protests. We have written about local history, local politics and local personalities. We have tried to give Whitstable a voice.
We have done all this for free.
Up till now we have covered all costs from our own pockets, but this year we find ourselves needing to ask for help. Importantly, we do not ask, or expect, much.
In fact, as little as £1 would be gratefully received. If every one of our subscribers gave only £1 that would really help us to cover costs. Any more would be a welcome bonus, helping us to continue with Whitstable Views, for which our editor and our small team have always given their time for free.
The time it takes to put up an article can be anywhere between a couple of hours and a whole day, depending on the complexity of the piece, including editing, layout and promotion. It’s not always easy work, but we do it out of love and necessity. It is our small contribution to the life of our town.
If you would like to make a donation, there are several ways you can go about this: via bank transfer, direct debit, or PayPal.
Bank Transfer. Name: CJ Stone. Sort code: 07-01-16. Account number: 41241717. Ref: Whitstable Views.
Direct Debit: use the details above to authorise a regular payment (as little or as much as you like).
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/home: Username christopherston@gmail.com. Make sure you mark it as a gift to friends and family as you go through the process, otherwise PayPal will take a cut.
Finally there are a number of possible donations you can make via PayPal on the Donations Page:
This is for ease and convenience and it definitely works, but please be aware that PayPal take a percentage. The lower the figure, the higher the percentage: 33p on a £1 donation, but only 79p on £10.
The optimum way to donate would be via bank transfer or direct debit.
Please be assured, this appeal would not be made if it was not necessary at this time.
Thank you for your continued support and for helping an independent citizen’s press survive.
Here’s to many more years of Whitstable Views.
Read more about Whitstable Views here:
Whitstable Views: How You Can Help
- Make sure you share and like our articles on Facebook and Twitter, and whatever other social-media platforms you use.
- Follow the site to get regular updates about new articles when they appear. Press the “Follow” icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen and that will take you to the option to sign up. (It disappears as you move the text down, then reappears as you move it back up again!)
- Leave comments on the site rather than on Facebook. Let’s get a debate going. All of our contributors are willing to engage with you if you leave a comment.
- To all writers out there, we would LOVE you to make a contribution. Read our submissions page for details on how to go about that: https://whitstableviews.com/submissions/
- Finally you can donate. As little as £1 would help. Details on the donations page here: https://whitstableviews.com/donate/
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