Good blogs for the greatest city. | |
![]() | |
Format | Digital |
---|---|
Founder(s) |
|
Founded | May 2, 2022 |
Circulation | 2,500 paid subscribers (as of 2023) |
Website |
hellgatenyc |
Hell Gate NYC is an online worker-owned publication focused on local New York City news. [1] [2] The publication is named after the Hell Gate Bridge, due to the bridge's reputation for tenacity. [3] Hell Gate covers a wide range of topics that include, but are not limited to, political corruption, local street performers, and strange subway advertisements. [4]
The founders of Hell Gate, Nick Pinto, Esther Wang, Christopher Robbins, Max Rivlin-Nadler, and Sydney Pereira, began developing the idea for the publication in 2021. [3] Many of them were former coworkers at local publications such as the Village Voice, The New York Times, and Gothamist, as well as non-NYC publications such as Jezebel and The Intercept. [3] Pinto, Robbins, and Rivin-Nadler had all faced job instability as journalists due to companies mismanaging resources, lacking funding, and cutting budgets. [5] In January 2022, they pitched the idea of Hell Gate to fifty local journalists, and recruited Pereira and Wang. [5] The team decided that their publication would have a snarky tone like pre-acquisition Gothamist, and that they would approach stories from a human rights-oriented perspective. [2]
Hell Gate launched the website as a test on 2 May 2022, and launched in full two months later. [6]
Hell Gate's initial funding came from two New York-based organizations for the arts: a $25,000 grant from The Harnisch Foundation, and a $50,000 grant from the Vital Projects Fund. It supports its journalism with tiered subscriptions to access its articles behind a paywall. [2] The founders believe that a subscription-funded business would work. [3] As of July 2023 [update], the site has garnered 2,500 paid subscribers and 200,000 monthly visits. [1]
To keep costs down, they wrote from home and published online, [3] using the same provider as Defector Media, another worker-owned cooperative. [2]
Hell Gate is a worker-owned cooperative, meaning all of the owners have the job of reporter, editor, and managing the business. [2] [3] They also hire freelancers. [5] As of March 2024, all of the worker-owners were paid $60,000 per year. [7] The company offers three monthly paid tiers: friend ($6.99), supporter ($9.99), and believer ($19.99). [7] They also have annual subscriptions, with the corresponding tiers being $70, $100, and $200. [2] Hell Gate also offers a free newsletter. [3] Advertisements are not a major source of revenue. [8] Half of its revenue comes from donations. [7]
Hell Gate has been identified by numerous outlets to be part of a resurgence in indie publishing. They have been favorably compared to other worker-owned sites like Defector and 404 Media. [1] [4] [9]
{{
cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (
help)