Judging from my inbox, some people think BSR has its own newsroom with a team of full-time writers and editors. I’m flattered whenever someone makes this assumption, because I think it speaks to the quality of our writers’ work, but the truth is that a small part-time team, working with dozens of freelance writers, keeps BSR running from our own home offices.
So far in 2024, working on a weekly schedule, we have published more than 350 articles (plus 16 podcast episodes). We operate for about 49 weeks out of the year (including Kyle’s excellent weekly events column). That’s with a team of two part-time editors, one proofreader, and (this year) about 55 freelance writers whose work drew more than 200,000 readers to our site. They covered theater, music, dance, public art, circus arts, storytelling, opera, cabaret, museums, galleries, installations, books, movies, and more.
And we did it all with a part-time team of seven: those two editors and the proofreader plus a social media manager, a publisher, a podcaster, and an executive director. No marketing or development staff.
Our annual budget is less than $120,000. That’s not a typo. About 85 percent of that goes directly to paying our staff and our writers, who earn $50-$100 per story (we desperately wish it was more!). And next year, BSR will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Did you know 2024 is the sixth year with me and Kyle at the editorial helm? Do you think we’re doing a good job of it?
As Kyle and I often say to each other, given everything our team accomplishes on a shoestring, it’s a little scary to imagine what we might be able to do with more funding. Nobody could stop us. Not even a US President who hates journalists, transparency, and community power.
We hope that knowing these numbers inspires you to support us. And we hope that everyone who has already stepped up and donated this season feels good about what their gift is doing.
The whole BSR team sends you warm holiday wishes. Look out tomorrow for our regular Wednesday newsletter. This week, it's Philly book reviews!
