From the Editors: June 2026
On symbiosis
Last month, I took a moment in this space to point out the vulnerability we all experience when we depend upon a fallible technology – and how the Erie Reader website as we know it nearly bit the dust in a widespread ransomware takedown. And while we came away from it intact (thanks to the swift work of our local web host heroes Epic Web Studios), there has been a significant amount of rebuilding that has taken a lot of time, patience, and work. But, positively, with that rebuilding we're also seeing a lot of improvements to our website, our services, and the ease of use (for us on the admin side as well as on the public side).
One of those areas of improvement is our shiny new advertising page. This can be found in the top menu on our homepage, or by visiting advertising.eriereader.com.
Now listen, I'm the first one to put both hands up and say THAT'S NOT MY JOB when someone approaches me about ad sales. No one loves that part of the business. But in the alt-news world, it is as essential as the air we breathe. Unequivocally: the Erie Reader would not be able to exist without the support of those folks in our community who regularly purchase ads, both in print and digitally.
We are a (stubbornly) free publication. No one ever has to pay to read the Erie Reader's content. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Erie Reader will always be free to read, but it is not free to make. Quite literally, the only way to print a paper, pay our writers and staff for the work they do, host a website, have a regular newsletter, maintain a robust public events calendar, publish 12 issues and a visitor's guide each year – is through the cash generated by folks in the community who see value in what we do and choose to support us by purchasing ads monthly (or, for the regular Reader reader, by becoming a subscribing donor. Click DONATE on our homepage for more info).
These are small businesses, nonprofits, organizations without a ton of budgeted funds to throw around and yet, they see the value in bolstering one of the few local publications where they can be visible.
Our advertisers understand that without us, they lose an avenue for promotion. And that the only way for us to continue being one of the only free cultural news sources covering and promoting their events, their plays, their markets, their art shows, their festivals, their concerts, their mission – is to support us.
It is symbiosis.
Those art and cultural institutions, and all of the other businesses and nonprofits adorning our pages each month understand that without supporting us, the support we provide goes away. And we're so grateful that they can see and understand that connection. Which, in turn, makes us happy to prioritize their needs in terms of coverage within these pages that they support.
As you hold this issue in your hands, take a moment, not only to read our incredible, thought-provoking, well-researched, curated content, but also to glance at the ads – and maybe think about them a little bit differently this time around. Rather than existing as something that is bought and sold, look at them in terms of mutual support – as a symbiotic relationship. And perhaps then make that symbiosis go full circle by giving your support to those businesses that help support us.
