Who The F*ck Supports This?
You do.
It's not enough to be a consumer of media. You must be a stakeholder in it. Invest in the continued production of WTF Just Happened Today? by becoming a supporting member. Choose from three recurring membership options below:
Just want to make a one-time contribution? As an alternative, you can support WTFJHT with one-time contributions of $25, $50, $100, and $200.
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A small tip goes a long way.
Use PayPal, Venmo (@WTFJHT), or Cash App ($WTFJHT) to contribute any amount you want one-time.
Here's the deal: This is my full-time job. And, I plan to keep doing this for as long as you keep supporting me. While the newsletter has always been free, it’s been sustained entirely through voluntary reader contributions. My goal has always been to earn a fair living wage so I can continue writing and reporting on WTFJHT without interruption. Said another way: Your support doesn’t just fund my work; it creates access for readers who otherwise couldn’t afford it, helping to keep everyone informed.
So, if you find my work valuable and find yourself relying on it, invest in the continued production of WTFJHT by becoming a supporting member so I can continue to tell you wtf just happened today.
Here’s how the math maths: About 2% of readers underwrite WTFJHT, which unlocks free access for everyone who cannot support my work. The annual cost to send this newsletter is about $1.95 per subscriber. With an average monthly contribution of $6.24 per member, each supporter effectively "pays for" approximately 38 free subscribers.
What's the money for? WTF Just Happened Today? is a bespoke newsletter, blog, podcast, and community chronicling the daily shock and awe in national politics. It's produced once a day with a newsletter sent out every afternoon, Monday through Thursday. More than 250,000 people rely on WTFJHT for the day's political news in a concise and focused recap. Your financial support is an investment in the continued production of all of the above.
Member benefits. Your optional, but generous support ensures that the following things are actively maintained: The Daily Update, the newsletter, the podcast, the Alexa Flash Briefing, the community forum, the RSS, Atom, and Apple News feeds, the WTFJHT API, Current Status, and more.
Credit card payments are handled by Memberful with Stripe as the payment processor. Your email address and personal information will never be shared with anyone for any purpose. Period. You will, however, receive occasional emails from myself and Memberful regarding invoices, renewals, and issues related to your credit card or account. Please note that all memberships auto-renew monthly/annually, but can be cancelled at any time. There are no refunds.
Questions or comments? Let me know.
Thanks for your support.
-Matt Kiser–
Can't afford to support my work financially? That's okay! Share WTF Just Happened Today? with with friends, family, and colleagues. It's a free gesture that has a big impact, strengthens our collective voice, and contributes to a well-informed community.
Editorial Policy:
This is the news through the lens of a person making decisions about coverage – much the same way a front page editor does for newspapers. With every blurb I write, I'm make a news-value judgement. There's a natural tension here: First, humans making decisions about the relative importance of information is inherently biased. And second, journalism is a set of ethics based on trust, truthfulness, fairness, integrity, independence, and accountability. My goal with WTF Just Happened Today? is to acknowledge my personal bias, reflect journalistic standards, and apply the following standards and practices:
- WTFJHT takes a neutral-ish position. It's not intentionally partisan. It's purposefully fact-based. It focuses on clearly saying what happened, concisely presenting the facts, citing the primary source, and moving on. Bias is the byproduct of being a human making decisions.
- WTFJHT does not offer commentary, opinion, or analysis. Adjectives and adverbs are generally stripped out of the writing so facts are framed as fact. It's unncessary to add a "just" in front of 8% of Americans approve of the job the president is doing. Any reasonable person can understand that that's probably not a good job approval rating, right?
- WTFJHT's value is derived from its reputation and promise to the readers. The voice, tone, and being non-partisan all represent the brand. If I break this promise, I break the trust of the reader.
With WTFJHT, you will find an independent voice that is personally accountable and considerate for how the editorial choices impact others. I go to great lengths to cite the original source of news and draw from a diversity of sources.
Still not convinced? Here's what the smartest people on the Internet are saying about What The Fuck Just Happened Today:
- "This is the site I’ve been waiting for." –Amy O'Leary, Chief Story Officer and Editorial Director at Upworthy
- "Single subject, distinct tone, clear formatting, total understanding of what its audience wants. @WTFJHT is the best email newsletter." –Dave Lee, BBC Silicon Valley Reporter
- "@WTFJHT is a brilliant journalistic response to an urgent civic need." –Jeff Jarvis, Director, Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism
- "Terrific daily digest. Exemplary news curation. Highly recommended." –Mark Potts, Digital Media Entrepreneur
Can I send you a check? Yes! Please make it payable to Matt Kiser (I can't cash checks made out to WTF Just Happened Today?). My physical address is: WTF Just Happened Today? 505 Broadway E #211, Seattle, WA 98102 USA
Where's the $1/mo option? Credit card fees on $1 are outrageous and there's nothing I can do about it. About 34% of a $1 pledge goes to the credit card processing companies. That's a lot of wasted money. Compared to a $5 pledge, "only" 10% is lost to fees. If you want to support WTFJHT at the equivalent of $1/mo, I offer a $12/yr option.
How do I login to my membership account? If you're on the Memberful platform (most members are), you can sign-in here. If you're on DonorBox, this is your sign-in page. And, if you're a Patreon member, here you go.
How do I update my credit card? Log in to your account, add your new card and click Update my credit card.
Can I update my email address or other personal information? Yes. Log in to your account here to make these changes.
Does unsubscribing from the newsletter automatically cancel my recurring membership? No. If you'd like to cancel or edit your recurring membership, please use the links provided in your receipt emails (or the appropriate link above) to manage your membership. Because WTFJHT is free but supported by optional contributions, it's not possible to make the assumption that someone unsubscribing from the newsletter also wants to cancel their patronage. In many cases, supporting members do not and have never been newsletter subscribers (e.g. a blog reader or Twitter followers). For these reasons, I provide members with the tools to manage their account at any time for any reason.
How do I cancel my membership? For Memberful members, log in to your account and toggle auto-renew off from the "Subscriptions" menu item.
Are you a 501(c)(3)? Is my contribution tax-deductible? No, I'm a for-profit, single-member LLC based in Washington State. There are two reasons for this: 1) this setup makes it easy to manage and keeps my operational overhead low, and 2) I strongly believe media businesses need to be in the business of being in business. Meaning, my ability to fund WTFJHT is a reflection of the value created for the readers. If enough readers don't find WTFJHT valuable enough to pay for, then maybe WTFJHT shouldn't exist anymore.
How much does this thing cost to run anyway? Glad you asked! I did some back of the envelope math and I came up with $16,280/month. That's a conservative estimate, to be honest. If you're interested in how I arrived at that number, I've outlined the cost of running WTFJHT in the FAQ.