What is Bklynr?

It’s harder than it should be to find quality journalism about Brooklyn. Certain aspects and areas of the borough are covered to death, while the rest of Brooklyn gets limited attention. (We’re pretty sure about this, because we mapped it.)

We produce journalism about all of Brooklyn. Twice a month, Bklynr publishes stories that cover the political, economic, and cultural life of the borough. Each issue contains three pieces, which we design to look beautiful on your computer, tablet, or phone.

“So obvious it’s almost hard to believe it hasn’t already been done.” —Capital New York

Who’s behind it?

A talented group of writers, photographers, and other journalists stand behind Bklynr. They’ve contributed to a range of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily News, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker.

Unlike some outlets, we pay people for their work. When we first began, we raised over $10,000 in pre-launch subscriptions, all of which we set aside for contributors. Now that we’re on our feet, we remain committed to paying the journalists who lend their time and talent.

Bklynr was founded by Thomas and Raphael. We met in college and bonded over a shared love of journalism and an interest in its future.

How can I read Bklynr?

The best way to read Bklynr is to subscribe. It’s just $2 for a monthly subscription. (If you’d like, you can also choose to pay more.) By subscribing, you’ll be supporting the talented journalists whose work we publish.

We think it’s a square deal. We could have chosen to cram our site with ads, but most online ads are distracting, and many websites are finding that ads don’t pay the bills like they used to. We’re trying something a little more direct.

If you’re not a subscriber, you can read one Bklynr article per month completely free. And go ahead and share our articles with others, because even if your friends don’t subscribe, they can read one free article per month, too.

We’re hardly the only small, independent publication using a subscription model.
To learn more, check out Craig Mod’s essay “Subcompact Publishing.”

On board? Here are other ways to help.

Spread the word. Let people know you support great independent journalism. Every tweet helps.

Buy a t-shirt. We’ve set up a little shop selling high-quality t-shirts featuring the Bklynr logo. They’re nice shirts, they ship fast, and a majority of the proceeds go to our contributors.

Contribute. We’re always looking for talented writers, photographers, artists, data journalists, multimedia producers, and anyone else who’d like to help. Drop us a line at contribute@bklynr.com. We pay.