Tangle - These are the moments

Dear reader,

Most news outlets try to conceal what these emails are really about with clickbait or misleading introductions. But I'm going to get straight to the point: I'm going to ask you to become a paying subscriber to Tangle. The news is absolutely wild these days, and we need your support more than ever.

Consider these wild facts:

• On May 30, former President Donald Trump was convicted in his hush money trial.
• On June 11, the president's son Hunter Biden was found guilty of federal gun crimes.
• On June 27, Biden had the debate that led to him dropping out.
• On July 1, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had broad immunity for official acts as president.
• On July 13, someone tried to assassinate Trump.
• On July 15, a Florida judge dismissed Trump's classified documents case. That same day, Trump tapped J.D. Vance as his running mate.
• On July 21, Biden announced he was dropping his re-election bid.

That's less than two months of history-shattering news. We have over three months until election day. Through it all, our small but mighty team at Tangle is going to be covering this election the only way we know how: By being balanced, honest, transparent, and informative. But we can only do this work with your help.

Why should you support us?

I think you should become a paying subscriber because we're doing something unique, valuable, and important. But I also think it's worth the subscription because of what you get in return. You get a lot of bang for your buck.

• You get ad-free newsletters Monday through Thursday
• You get our special Friday editions (including this week's)
• You get original transcribed interviews, deep dives, reader requested content, personal essays, and inside information about our business
• You get our Sunday editions (comics, fun stories, word puzzles, and shortened summaries of all our newsletters)
• You get access to the comments section
• You get baked into any additional offerings in the future
• You get offers from some of our partners

Tangle subscriptions are just $6/month or $59/year, which is cheaper than basically every other news outlet these days.

How do you know it's worth it?

We have over to 17,000 paying subscribers. Every month, less than 1% of them cancel. That's how much they like it. Put differently: 99% of all subscribers stay subscribers every month. Some subscribers who really want to support our work sign up for our "Thank you" tier, which is $199/year. You can do that here.

Why do we need it?

Most news outlets will give you some high-minded stuff about how they are changing the world, holding the powerful to account, or remaking media. But the truth is we are still a small fish in a big ocean. For context: NBC's Chuck Todd earns $10 million per year. Fox News's Sean Hannity makes $40 million per year. That's about 40 times the revenue we have for our entire operation.

Think about it this way: About 90,000 people are receiving this email. If 1,000 of them (just 1 in 90!) jumped to a paying subscription, we could hire another full-time team member.

We're trying to change the news, but it's an uphill battle. Every subscriber counts.

Anything else?

Yeah, thank you! Even if you aren't ready to become a subscriber, if you're reading this, you are supporting an independent news organization trying to build something fresh. I know these emails can be annoying, but I hope you understand why we are asking.

Remember: If you can't afford a subscription, just write in and let me know. I'll gift you one on the house. And if you want to be generous and help fund those gift subscriptions, please consider our "thank you" tier.

Thank you!

Best,

Isaac, Magdalena, Ari, Jon, Will, and the Tangle team