Publisher's Note: 1,000 neighbors
Three months of proof that local journalism can work differently.
Three months ago, I hit publish on the first edition of The Alexandria Brief.
I’m not trying to compete with anyone. I’m trying to show there’s a better way to do local journalism.
Words matter. How you write about people matters. How you cover a neighborhood, a business, a school, a family—it matters. Not in a way that softens the truth or turns journalism into PR. In a way that recognizes we’re all neighbors. That we all want this to be the best community it can be.
I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe that.
No ads. No sponsors. No outrage for clicks. Just the news and information Alexandrians need, want, and deserve—covered with understanding, with care, and with the belief that everyone reading it lives here too.
Last month, I shared our two-month numbers with you. I said I’d keep doing that on the 4th of each month. Here’s where we are at three months:
586 stories published. 6.4 per day.
1,089 subscribers. Up from 675 a month ago.
77 paid supporters. Up from 44.
I passed 1,000 subscribers last week. I’ve been thinking about what that number means.
It means I can spend 15 hours reading housing policy so you understand what’s happening in your city. It means I can be the only journalist in the room at a historic event and make sure it doesn’t disappear. It means I can cover a three-hour school board meeting and tell you what actually happened. It means I can skip the story that would get clicks, but doesn’t matter.
That’s what reader-funded journalism makes possible. You don’t pay for access—everything is free. You pay because you believe Alexandria deserves this.
You’ve emailed tips and corrections. You’ve forwarded stories to neighbors. You’ve shown up at the meetings I cover. You’ve replied just to say thanks.
That’s not an audience. That’s a neighborhood.
The math is simple: the more people who know about The Alexandria Brief, the more who subscribe. The more who subscribe, the more who become paid supporters. The more supporters, the more journalism I can do for this community.
If The Alexandria Brief has been valuable to you and you’re able, become a paid member. That’s what keeps this going.
If you can’t pay, sharing is just as important. Forward a story. Mention it to a neighbor. Every new reader makes this more sustainable for everyone.
Three months. 1,000 neighbors. Proof it’s possible.
What happens next is up to us.
— Ryan