AJT Switches to Donation-Based Business Model

For the last 100 years, the Atlanta Jewish Times has kept Jewish Atlanta connected and informed through vibrant local journalism and community engagement. And that will continue for at least the next 100 years.

However, as the saying goes, “The (Jewish) times … they are a-changing.”
The AJT will no longer utilize a subscription-based model. In its place, the Atlanta Jewish Times will offer its readership free home delivery and ask that readers and supporters consider making a charitable, tax-deductible donation. The donated funds will go toward covering the costs of printing and distribution throughout the community.

The paper’s owner and publisher, Michael Morris, explained the rationale behind the decision to switch business models.

“The newspaper industry, like all printed media, is changing. Online news is commanding a larger share of viewer experience, the cost of paper, printing and distribution is rising significantly, and advertising dollars cannot quite cover the cost of creating a physical newspaper,” he said. “When I first took the helm of the AJT 10 years ago, there were over 160 printed and online Jewish media organizations. Today, there are about 110.”

To continue receiving the paper at home for free, readers will need to visit www.AtlantaJewishTimes.com/subscribe-to-home-delivery/ or www.AtlantaJewishLifeFoundation.com and request delivery.

Readers will receive an annual email notification that encourages donating to help support distribution costs. All donations will be made to the Atlanta Jewish Life Foundation, a 501c(3) nonprofit entity that supports a large portion of the AJT’s annual budget.

Morris detailed the connection between the Atlanta Jewish Times and the Atlanta Jewish Life Foundation.

“The Atlanta Jewish Life Foundation (AJLF) is set up to help the Atlanta Jewish Times fulfill its commitments to the Atlanta Jewish community and its mission of ‘Keeping Jewish Atlanta Connected.’ This includes producing the Atlanta Jewish Life Festival, disseminating news and distributing the newspaper, maintaining the Atlanta Jewish Connector (the Jewish community’s calendar), and who knows, possibly keeping the Kosher BBQ Festival going. The AJLF is able to facilitate charitable donations for the benefit of the donor as well as the AJT.”

While local journalism is vital to the community in which it serves, the industry as a whole is not particularly lucrative. As such, most Jewish newspapers in America are subsidized either through the local Federation or generous individual benefactors. However, the AJT will serve as a pioneer in switching to a donation-based model and could inspire other local Jewish news outlets to follow suit.

“The majority of the outlets lost were newspapers and the reason they folded is that they are not economically ongoing operations. Of the remaining newspapers, the majority are financially assisted by Federations or other grantors and the AJT is no exception,” Morris said. “The bottom line, in order to produce the quality product the community currently enjoys, the AJT needs to raise additional funds to cover the gap between advertising sales and total expenses. The most effective way to entice new donors is to make the donation tax-deductible. Thus far, since I have owned the paper, I have funded this gap personally.”

Morris noted that the AJT’s subscription base is fairly small as compared to the total readership figure and the funds garnered from subscription sales each year did not cover the cost of printing. The annual subscription cost had not increased in the 10 years since Morris bought the publication.

“I felt that as the paper and I went out to the community to ask for support, the paid subscribers should be given the same opportunity to donate without being burdened by the small and ineffective subscription price. Whether or not someone chooses home delivery or picks the paper up at our distribution locations, any donation ensures the distribution to the entire community,” Morris said.

Here’s to another 100 years of local Jewish journalism … with free home delivery.