Crikey readers on why they pay for independent journalism

'Crikey tells me the facts. In a country dominated by the Murdoch press, that's rare.'

Paul Wayland writes: I have been a Crikey subscriber for 4+ years, and will continue to subscribe.

I pay you because your information is balanced and appears free of bias. Even television news (7, 9 and 10) now appears even more designed to get viewer attention rather than a fair and unbiased depiction. ABC still dominates.

The sentiments above are what keep me committed to Crikey.

Paul Finegan writes: You don’t do spin, agendas, political or intellectual bias. Your articles are well-researched and intelligent. Facts are identified from the constant flood of misinformation and lies presented to us by the “interested parties”. Crikey does not deal with “alternate facts” or “alternate truth” other than to debunk them. You’re not afraid to call out wrongdoing and disgraceful behaviour, no matter how big the subject.

It is such a relief to have a brave, unbiased, independent media outlet in Australia.

Lynn Bonython writes: I pay to read news from Crikey because the news sources I had previously relied on became less about issues affecting Australia and more about covering celebrities and popular “chat” topics (latest fad diet anyone?).

I pay because you research your topics. Because you look to join the dots in our highly complex world. Because you think, ponder, wonder, suggest, suppose and question. And then you explain all the bits to us, your readers, in a way that informs without bullying and makes us think and question too. You laugh at yourselves at times, you sometimes disagree with one another and even admit to a rare error. You use your great Aussie sense of humour to keep us reading and wanting more!

I pay because I have more idea about what’s going on in the world by reading Crikey than any other source I have been able to find. You make my world more understandable, my opinions more challenged and my heart more compassionate.

Penelope Hanley writes: I subscribe to Crikey even though I’m not rich and it’s expensive for me because Crikey tells me the facts. In a country dominated by the Murdoch press that’s rare. It’s worth paying for because it’s an essential part of a functioning democracy and without it there would be hardly any democracy left in Australia.

I also love the quality of the writing. The journalists really enjoy playing with our glorious English language. They know their grammar and punctuation and have big vocabularies and have the intellectual dexterity to use that to beautiful effect. This is so important — our grasp of our native tongue is an important factor in allowing us to think logically, to present an argument coherently and to entertain. Your writers all do this.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing your job so well. It should not be rare. But it is.

Antony Ransome writes: I’ve recently moved abroad, but of course I’m still interested in your analysis of things Australian. I particularly like the (almost) no-holds-barred approach of Keane and Rundle. If you could manage to bring even more international news, that would be a bonus. It’s marvellous that you don’t bring clickbait, which even infects The Guardian, The Independent and my all-time favourite Die Zeit, whose analogue weekly edition is so much better than its website.

More power to your collective elbow!

Gerry O’Sullivan writes: I have been a subscriber since, I think, 2003. (Is there a long service medal?)

The reasons I subscribe are as follows:

To support independent media (I also chipped in a few bucks to the Murdoch case.)
Because you provide in-depth analysis of important stories; it can be difficult to figure things out from the “he said/she said” reporting in other outlets.
You are quite frequently ahead of the game; I can remember several times when there was a major breaking story in the news, and I thought to myself, “I knew about that two weeks ago from Crikey“.
You get close to the action — for example, sending Guy Rundle to the USA for presidential election coverage.
You have a long institutional memory. Current situations are linked to their historical origins, something that most other media have stopped doing.
In most articles, the writing is excellent and entertaining.

Keep doing what you are doing, Crikey.

Independent journalism in Australia needs your support.

Get full access to Crikey and support independent media. Sign up today and you’ll save more than 50% on an annual subscription.