Last August, elDiario.es surpassed 90,000 members, a milestone that has been consolidated in recent weeks and continues to grow. The increase in the number of people joining our community has been constant since April 2023. In addition, elDiario.es was the most read native digital media in Spain in June and revalidated its position among the most trusted media, according to the largest international study on the state of the press, the Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute.
The coverage of the intense electoral calendar of the first half of 2024 – with the Galician, Basque, European and Catalan elections – and the analyses of our team of columnists have been informative references led by this newspaper; also the exclusives on Ayuso’s partner (including threats and insults against elDiario.es by his chief of staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez), Feijóo’s bonus, the handpicked contracts of the Andalusian government or the information on the INE’s errors in the estimation of GDP.
We started 2024 with a community of over 75,000 people and by the middle of this September, that number is already close to 90,500. So far this year alone, 15,000 new members have joined, representing a cumulative increase of 19.6% in nine months.
Out of a total of more than 90,500 members of our community, 15,430 contribute above the basic rate (80 euros per year), and 6,078 of them dedicate this additional contribution to their territorial edition. In addition, a total of 3,358 members have benefited from the reduced rates intended for the unemployed, students, ERTE workers or those on low incomes.
In addition to the 90,500 paying members, elDiario.es also gives access with the 0 euro modality to another 1,193 people. This is a formula that we launched in 2020 for readers who cannot afford to benefit from the reduced rates, in line with the philosophy of elDiario.es: no one is excluded from information because they have no money.
An independent and debt-free newspaper
Since its birth 12 years ago, elDiario.es has been characterized by independent and debt-free journalism, and by the discovery of great exclusives: the “master case” of Cristina Cifuentes, the “black cards” of Caja Madrid and Bankia, the text messages of the businessman López Madrid with the kings, the Castellana papers on tax amnesty, the rigged oppositions of the Basque health service and the contracts of Operation Chamartín, among others. It is impossible to understand many episodes of the recent history of Spain without the investigations of elDiario.es, investigations that have been possible thanks to the freedom given to us by the tens of thousands of members who support us.
The support of these thousands of people makes possible a totally independent newspaper: without big companies or banks on our board of directors. No debt. No ties. An honest and transparent newspaper, which does not have to sell its editorial line, protected by its partners from the pressures of power.
In May 2023, elDiario.es also became the first newspaper to have a mandatory statute for its employees, which recognizes the rights of members and protects the independence of the newspaper. The Statute was approved by both elDiario.es staff and its community.
Through this mutual commitment, we depend on many, not just a few. We depend on more than 90,000 people who fund our journalism and our freedom. To all of you, thank you for your support.
And if you aren’t already, become a member, become a member of elDiario.es.
