Erin Kirk
Audio By Carbonatix
Independent Journalism in Miami Needs You
We need to raise $10,000 by August 9 to support the reporting our community depends on. Reader support keeps us independent and is playing a larger role in funding local journalism and shaping what comes next. If you believe independent local journalism matters, make a contribution today.
The journalism industry is in crisis. Dang, I just jump in with the heavy, right?
Well, many in our industry are calling it a crisis, and it can feel that way. I’m attempting to be a little more optimistic. Journalism has been in a state of constant evolution as long as many of us can remember. That rings true today. There is cause for alarm when jobs are being cut and local newsrooms are disappearing across the country, leaving more communities with weakened social ties and dwindling governmental accountability. And AI is not helping.
Voice Media Group is not exempt from the challenges posed by an uncertain economy, a rapidly evolving media landscape, and ongoing tech disruption driven by AI and Google algorithm changes. Like any business, we must adapt to changing economic conditions.
When it comes to how and where we tell our stories, our newsrooms are adapting as well. In addition to print and our website, we share our journalism across social media, newsletters, and through podcasts (Midweek Cafecito is our first podcast).
We hope to always remain free and in print. However, our evolving business model is still heavily supported by print and website revenue. The advertising revenue from new channels has not increased to a level that makes up for our losses in print and website revenue.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Our membership program is becoming even more important to our future. We wanted to take this opportunity during our summer membership drive to explain why and to break down how we are funded.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 by August 9 to help sustain the reporting, storytelling, investigations, opinion pieces, newsletters, social media, and community journalism our readers rely on every day. We hope by the end of this piece you understand just how important our members are to us. And maybe one more reader will support our independent journalism by giving any amount to become a member.
About Voice Media Group
First, some background information. Voice Media Group, based in Denver, is a diversified media and tech company that specializes in serving advertisers, business owners, and readers across the country. It owns and operates four publications with independent newsrooms: Westword, Dallas Observer, Miami New Times, and Phoenix New Times.
If you just know us for our journalism, you may not know Voice Media Group also owns a digital advertising agency, V Digital Services (VDS). The agency, which has seen double-digit growth since its inception in 2013, has twelve regional offices in the United States, along with a growing presence in international markets.
It’s important to note that VDS is a separate entity under the Voice Media Group umbrella and does not provide financial support for our four independent newsrooms.
Journalism that is always free, always accessible
Since our founding, our journalism has always been free. No paywall, no subscription fees. And we’re proud of that fact. Readers can find new stories on our website daily, across social media and in our newsletters, and believe it or not, we still publish in print every. Single. Week. It remains our free gift to the city.
If you grab a print paper from one of our iconic boxes around town, you may notice it doesn’t weigh as much as it once did. Due to print ad declines, we aren’t able to produce the nearly 200-page papers we did in the ‘90s or the more than 100-page papers we produced in 2016. The print paper showcases only a fraction of the journalism we produce weekly.
When the pandemic hit, we joined many other news outlets in launching a membership program. Today, we are so optimistic about our future because of the 3,256 readers across our markets who are currently members. They are so integral in supporting our staff, freelancers and the range of journalism we continue to produce every day.
You want only-in-Miami stories? We got that. You want to know about things to do? We’re on it. You want someone to hold the powerful to account? We do that, too.
How our newsrooms are funded
Since 2023, Voice Media Group editorial revenue has decreased by 9%. After two years of investing in the editorial budget while revenue did not follow the same growth trajectory, we’ve reduced our total Voice Media Group editorial operating budget by more than 16% in 2026.
Looking at our individual markets, we’ve made significant reductions to our editorial operating budgets for 2026: Dallas Observer by 18%, Westword by 17%, Phoenix New Times by 16%, and Miami New Times by 10%. This was a challenging year for us, but we march on.
Voice Media Group continues to strengthen our diversified revenue streams, so we are less reliant on print and website revenue to sustain our newsrooms. Publications and associated websites are supported by the following revenue streams:
- Print: Accounts for 61% of our total revenue, and has declined 17% since 2023;
- Website: Accounts for 19% of total revenue, and has declined 4% since 2023;
- Newsletters: Accounts for 10% of total revenue, and has declined 21% since 2023;
- Social media (new in 2023): Accounts for 7% of total revenue, and has increased 140% since 2023;
- Membership (new in 2020/2021): Accounts for 3% of total revenue, and has increased 137% since 2023.
As you can see, one of our bright spots is membership. More readers are stepping up. We hope to grow that bucket substantially in the coming years.
While many say they don’t need the perks, we do have some pretty cool ones, ranging from merch designed by local artists to discounts from local businesses to members-only events. Keep your eye on this tag for future perk announcements.
The impact on our newsrooms
We have been able to grow in various ways since 2023, including hiring social media editors in each market to manage social strategies, a corporate membership director to lead the program, a corporate audience strategist to analyze insights and evolve our newsletters, designers to redesign our websites, and working with upgraded tech on our new content management system (CMS). We also had to make tough decisions that impacted our corporate team and newsrooms:
- In July 2026, Voice Media Group completed a re-org, leaving the editor-in-chief role unfilled in each market after three retirements and also eliminating one corporate audience strategist position. Sam Eifling, Phoenix New Times’ editor-in-chief, was named national editor, editing across the four markets and stepping up as my partner in leading the 7-9 staffers in each newsroom. One or multiple editors in each market were promoted to senior editor, taking on new leadership tasks with the re-org.
- Miami New Times has removed two other positions since 2025, including a staff writer and a part-time copyeditor. In 2026 (compared to 2024), New Times reduced freelance budgets by 13%.
- Phoenix New Times has removed two other positions since 2025, including a music editor and a part-time copyeditor. In 2026 (compared to 2024), New Times reduced freelance budgets by 35%.
- Dallas Observer has removed two other positions since 2025, including a staff writer and a part-time copyeditor. In 2026 (compared to 2024), the Observer reduced freelance budgets by 33%.
- Westword has removed two other positions since 2025, including a staff writer and a copyeditor. In 2026 (compared to 2024), Westword reduced freelance budgets by 7%. This fall, our plan is to bring back the third staff writer role.
I’ve been so proud to lead the Voice Media Group editorial newsrooms since 2023, and what we’ve accomplished together so far has kept our alt-weeklies evolving while our voice and journalism remain strong. Each of these editors and writers inspires me with their dedication to storytelling for their communities.
I also want to give special recognition to my colleagues Bridget Thomason, Voice Media Group editorial operations director, and Jennifer Robinson, Voice Media Group director of membership and community development. They are the quiet engines behind-the-scenes who support each of our newsrooms in countless ways.
For Voice Media Group, the most powerful and impactful engine for our journalism is the membership program. If you’re already a member, thank you. If you aren’t one yet, I hope you’ll become one. And while I hope this article provides insight into where we are now and optimism about our future, please email me with any questions or feedback: chelsey.dequaine@voicemediagroup.com.
