A few months ago, Dispatch didn’t exist.
There was no online magazine. No website. No stories about opioids in Britain, tech parties in San Francisco, David Icke’s Easter, or Elon Musk’s company town. No reader letters. No national headlines. No legal threats from thin-skinned powerbrokers.
I started Dispatch because I believed, and still do, that something was missing from the media landscape.
And now here we are.
In less than eight weeks, Dispatch stories have featured on the BBC, been picked up by the international press, made a front page, and — soon — will feature in a mini-documentary. Thousands of readers have signed up. In short: Dispatch has made a stir.
This tells us something important. That there’s still a demand for journalism that takes its subjects and readers seriously. That treats reporting not as content, but as craft. That believes in the old frontier spirit: going out into the world and speaking to people, rather than pontificating behind a screen.
And all this on a shoestring budget — spending less than a legacy outlet might burn through in a single day.
Not that you’d be able to tell. Dispatch has already published a roster of remarkable writers — some you’d recognise from the pages of The New Yorker, others you’d never encountered before. But all of them beautiful storytellers.
There is, however, a catch.
Good journalism — the kind Dispatch is trying to do — isn’t cheap. These aren’t 800-word takes written between meetings. They take weeks: researching, travelling, interviewing, writing, editing, designing.
Which is why, today, I’m asking you to chip in.
In the coming weeks, Dispatch will introduce a paywall.
Once it’s up, only paying subscribers will have access to everything. Free members will still be able to read occasional pieces — but to get the full experience, you’ll need to subscribe.
To make that decision easier, for a short time only, Dispatch is offering 25% off monthly and annual plans. The annual option — the most helpful, because it allows immediate investment in more stories — is now just £56.25. That’s £1.08 a week, or 15p a day.
For what Dispatch produces, that’s a terrifyingly small amount. But hopefully, it persuades you to take the plunge. And if you (correctly) think that’s too little, you can always pay full price — or better still, become a Super Supporter, the top-tier plan for those who want Dispatch to thrive.
So, if you value what Dispatch has done — and believe in what it’s building — if you want journalism that’s serious but never boring, surprising but never glib, then now is the time to take out a paid subscription.
Let’s keep Dispatch going — and keep the frontier spirit alive.
Click here to get 25% off an annual subscription.