Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

At Through the Static (TtS), we firmly believe that independent journalism should only answer to the community that it serves. Today, corporations control the majority of media, and at the local level, I have seen how advertisers influenced candidate endorsements for elections and police accountability reporting. At several points in my career, I was told that human rights issues, like Transgender healthcare and the genocide in Palestine were “too controversial,” to report on due to readership and revenue streams. Finding that unacceptable, TtS puts community at the forefront and pledges to speak truth to power – at all costs.

Since August 1, 2025, TtS has worked to amplify Pacific Northwestern community voices, specifically in the Seattle-area. And we’ve been refusing corporate sponsorships or advertisements, and any form of pay walls. While most other news companies have some sort of payment barriers, like subscribe to continue reading or paid-only content, all of our work is entirely accessible to everyone and reader-supported. This ensures that our coverage remains uncompromised.

Building an ethical media platform like TtS requires more than just independent reporting from trained and emerging journalists— it requires an ethical financial model. We want to be transparent about how your contributions keep this news website and platforms alive and how we plan to continue building-up our collective news coverage.

TtS’s fundraising operations rely on a concise, two-tier monthly milestone system. Here’s precisely where your donations go:

Tier 1: Foundational operations ($0- $2,500/month)

The first $2,500 raised each month ensures the security of the foundation of TtS. Funds are allocated towards our fixed infrastructure, like website hosting, email fees, and data security tools. It also funds the demanding, daily workload of core reporting, site and article editing, social media management, and publishing that keeps TtS functioning each day.

Surpassing this $2,500 threshold keeps our lights on and ensures our baseline news output remains stable and consistent.

Tier 2: Contributor pool (everything above $2,500)

The moment our monthly donations surpass the $2,500 operational baseline, our contributor pool unlocks. Each dollar raised above $2,500 goes directly into a dedicated fund to pay our interns, freelance writers and photojournalists.

Surpassing our baseline goal directly means:

• More boots on the ground coverage for under-reported local news stories
• Paid opportunities and professional training for emerging journalists
• More expansive community investigations

The rates we want to pay contributors are:

• $200 per article + photos
• $150 per article
• $100 per photos

For at least six months, people have reached out asking if we are hiring or how they can become involved. People are eager to report independent antifascist news for TtS’s audiences, and we are eager to pay them for the intensive work they do.

We are currently 6% of the way towards clearing our baseline operations for this month.

If you value local news that prioritizes people over profit, please consider becoming a monthly donor. A recurring donation of $5, $10, or $25 a month provides us the predictable stability we need to produce TtS news and expand our team. Other donation options include Ko-Fi and Venmo @ Saundershannah. Thank you for your support!