We started Pirate Wire Services almost 5 years ago. Our mission at the time was to bring on-the-ground coverage to a region we all call home, which English-language media often underreports and misunderstands.
We also wanted to tell the stories of those whose voices often go unheard and put faces on people often treated as little more than statistics. All the founding members of PWS were veteran freelancers in Latin America, and though some of us went on to permanent postings elsewhere, we all still check in from time to time with original features or guest appearances on the Pirate Wire Radio podcast.
In those 5 years, we have reported from half a dozen countries, crossed the Darien Gap, endured riots and tear gas, spoken with countless migrants, and produced a substantial body of work that attempts to hold power accountable.
We strive every day to bring you the crucial context that the big media companies often miss and the analysis that comes with a decade of experience in LATAM (or for some of us, a lifetime).
But also during those 5 years, the situation for independent journalists has only grown more precarious. We don’t accept corporate sponsors or ad shares. And as traditional media is slowly bought up by billionaires who either put their thumb on the editorial scales to suit their agenda, or dismantle newsrooms to sell for parts, truly independent journalism could not be crucial.
Yet, our growth has stagnated. We understand that when we started, not every journalist had a newsletter and a Substack account. Growth was easier and faster. Subscription fatigue is a real thing. And we can’t blame you! We can’t afford all the subscriptions we want either.
Also, in those 5 years, we have tried a variety of approaches to how we publish: paywalls, podcasts, a focus on criminal armed groups and migration, social movements, and many more.
But social media sites have become increasingly futile platforms for promoting our work. With billionaire owners who want those sites to be walled gardens that users never leave, our stories are often throttled by algorithms that favor rage bait or partisan bias over serious journalism.
So we’re asking you to please consider taking out a paid subscription to PWS. We have plans starting at just $5/month. Less than the price of a large coffee in most countries! And speaking of coffee, if you prefer not to commit to a monthly donation, you can also help us out with a one-time payment at our Buy Me A Coffee account. It’s quick!
Help support our work and keep the lights on in our independent newsroom! It’s a place where you will never encounter pieces written by AI or work that serves the agenda of any power except the power of indie media.
And if you already are one of our supporters, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are the reason we do what we do, and the reason we are able to do it.
¡Hasta pronto, piratas! Y gracias por todo!
You can also donate a one-time gift via “Buy Me a Coffee”. It only takes a few moments, and you can do so here.
And if you can’t do any of that, please do help us by sharing the piece! We don’t have billionaire PR teams either.
Hasta pronto, piratas!
