The Juneau Independent needs more help to keep publishing. Here’s why.

The Juneau Independent hosts a first anniversary picnic at Twin Lakes on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (Photo by Bob Eastaugh)

(Editor’s note: The one-year anniversary of the Juneau Independent was Saturday, June 20, 2026. This is part of a series of articles focusing on the intent, to-date efforts and future plans of the nonprofit online local newspaper. The first of the series can be read here.)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

The bottom line is we are going to run out of money if our situation doesn’t change.

On good days, more than 6,000 people read the Juneau Independent. It’s well over 10,000 on our best days and drops below 3,000 on bad days.

During the past year, roughly 2,000 people have donated to our local nonprofit newspaper.

I pointed out the seriousness of our situation in a post on our Facebook page Tuesday morning. During the next 24 hours, we got more than 100 online donations totalling about $6,500, with many of those in the form of monthly pledges that will help provide the ongoing income needed.

The quick and sizable response is part of an immense gratitude I cannot adequately express with mere words in a column like this. And it’s a vital first step — but only a first step — toward resolving our need to meet the costs of operating a local nonprofit news publication.

Here are the cold, hard facts.

We’ve operated at a loss for the vast majority of our first year. We received more than $60,000 in initial support from many hundreds of donors during our first month, then a steady stream from people making monthly "subscription" donations as well as additional one-time donations. We also began running ads after a few months that are bringing in a few thousand dollars a month.

Over the past several months, the ongoing income has been roughly half of our $25,000 a month operating costs. So we are depleting our bank account fast.

Roughly $20,000 of those monthly costs are payroll: three full-time news employees (including myself) — each earning the same salary — a business manager, two part-time hourly news/web employees, and an ad manager working solely on commission. I believe in a living wage that helps retain a skilled staff, but do the math and it should be evident nobody is getting lavishly paid (and employees are responsible for their own health insurance).

The only way to significantly cut that cost, mathematically speaking, would be to downsize the full-time staff, which would eliminate our sports coverage and/or cut our news coverage by half.

We also have rent and insurance payments for an office of about 400 square feet, fees for internet and other hosting services, and other typical costs such as supplies.

We have relied on non-monetary donations for many things, including office furniture and airline miles to cover travel for statewide sports tournaments. Office space was also donated to us for our first three months of operation.

Staff and board members have paid for many things out of their own pockets — including the food and other costs for our first anniversary celebration on Saturday. As always, all money donated by people goes toward supporting news operations.

We have stayed solvent largely due to a couple of situations that have resulted in significant boosts: the holiday season, when our snowstorm disaster coverage drew many new readers, and a Feb. 19 fundraiser. The donations received since our anniversary are another boost, but ultimately, we are still looking at needing an additional $10,000 a month in revenue to be sustainable.

That can happen if 500 additional people donate $20 a month. But we are taking other steps and seeking other help as well.

• We’re applying for numerous grants and other assistance, such as matching funds for donor contributions — some of which we’re only eligible for after a year of operation. But it will be months before those are reviewed and (hopefully) approved.

• We’re looking at ways to expand advertising revenue without encroaching on our news content — by featuring ads that appear on a rotating basis in designated slots each time a page is loaded, for instance.

• In the tradition of public media and other nonprofit news operations, we are seeking sponsors who will be credited as such. They likely will appear in a designated section on the homepage (such as after the sections that contain our exclusive news, sports and opinion content).

While some details of each of those are a work in progress, one-time and monthly donations can be made at this link. People interested in advertising or sponsorships can contact Douglas Drazkowski at ads@juneauindependent.com.

I have told many people since the Independent’s launch that my intent wasn’t to ask folks for money with the promise that someday this would go toward establishing a strong local newspaper. It was to deliver on that promise upfront, with the faith local on-the-ground news coverage is something the community wants and will support.

I also feel very strongly about publishing a paywall-free paper so readers who appreciate local news can read it regardless of their ability to pay. Plus, it ensures free access for all during emergencies and other urgent news situations.

I hope we’ve lived up to those aspirations during our first year and that we can build on them during our second year. It’s up to all of you — our readers — who, practically speaking, are the owners of the Juneau Independent — to determine if that’s to be our future.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.