Traditionally, August is ‘silly season’ in the UK, and things certainly got silly on 14 August of this year, when we published our media alert, ‘“Israel Says” Is Not Journalism’.
If reader reaction was more muted than usual, we put it down to the summer break. It was quite a shock when we realised, weeks later, that an e-blockage in our publishing pipes meant the alert had not been sent at all to our email subscribers, so that we had to send it again on 1 October.
The problem was far more serious than we first imagined. Media Lens webmaster Keyvan Minoukadeh quickly got on the case and advised that we move to a new publishing system as the old one was now unsupported and well past its sell-by date. A decision was made to send emailed alerts and cogitations via Substack, which we had already been using as one of our social media platforms.
There were a few teething problems – inevitable when making a change of that magnitude – but the new system seemed to be working well. Alas, we then began receiving unusual messages of this kind from readers:
‘I am a paid subscriber and have been for several years, I pay £10 per month by standing order!’
We greatly appreciate this support, of course, but why would our readers feel the need to point it out to us so starkly? The answer lay at the end of the Substack emails and alerts being forwarded to us:
‘You’re currently a free subscriber to Media Lens. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.’
With a clickable button:
‘Upgrade to paid’
This really is an awful email to receive for someone who has been supporting us with donations, perhaps for years and decades. Worse still, there is no ‘full experience’ to ‘upgrade’ to! For twenty-five years, we have been delighted to give away our media alerts, cogitations and social media content for free, while very occasionally inviting people to donate, if they like what we’re doing.
To be candid, we feel uncomfortable when other alternative media websites similar to ours send out numerous, repeated messages as a kind of marketing campaign urging readers to hit some financial ‘target’. It’s fine to make people aware that donating is possible and appreciated. But the less manipulative pressure, the better, as far as we’re concerned. You don’t challenge the corporate media moloch by aping the corporate media moloch!
Which is why we totally understand why another monthly donor was deeply unimpressed to receive this offer – again, ostensibly from us – at the end of a Substack email:
‘Thank you for reading Media Lens. As a token of our appreciation, we’re offering you a limited-time offer of 20% off a paid subscription.
‘Redeem special offer
‘Here are the benefits you unlock with a paid subscription:
‘Subscriber-only posts and full archive
‘Post comments and join the community
‘Join the many readers who pay for full access to Media Lens – redeem your special offer today!’
We had no idea Substack sent emails of this kind; it is pretty much everything we dislike about sneaky corporate marketing. Worse, as discussed, there are no ‘subscriber-only posts and full archive’ – the Media Lens archive is fully available for everyone, completely free, here. By the way, it is word searchable, making it a fantastic resource.
Our alerts are also not copyrighted, and we have not relocated to California – it is Substack’s address at the end of their emails, not ours.
We think we have now eliminated most or all of these gremlins. If anything similar gets through, please let us know and we’ll deal with it.
We’d like to send our heartfelt apologies to all of our subscribers – whether paid or not – for sending you these ugly corporate manipulations. We are very aware of your support and appreciate it greatly. Our alerts, cogitations and social media content have always been free, and they always will be.
David Edwards and David Cromwell