How Payments Work
Who pays, who gets paid, and how the math works out.
Who funds journalism here
Advertisers, friends, family, and readers — wherever they live — fund the journalists who cover their communities.
When someone backs a specific journalist or publication, 90% goes directly to them and 10% keeps the platform running.
That direct support — people backing you by name — is how you earn here today. Anything from larger advertisers later is a bonus we're working toward, not a guarantee.
When journalists get paid
For direct support — backing a specific journalist or publication by name — the 90% goes to the creator's connected payout account. Most connect Stripe, where it transfers the moment the supporter's payment clears — no holding period, no payout threshold. Where Stripe payouts aren't available, creators connect PayPal instead.
The journalist connects Stripe or PayPal once, as part of their initial setup.
Supporting My Local Press itself is another way you'll earn, and we're still building it. We aspire to a YouTube-like model: advertising that helps journalists and publications supplement their own direct income. An advertiser can back My Local Press itself or a geographic area, and our goal is to pass a percentage of what they pay along to local journalists — weighted by reader engagement and the respect a piece earns.
It's a goal, not a guarantee. What you can count on today is the 90% you keep from everyone who backs you directly.
Three tiers of support
The journalist's share is 90% in every tier. Full and Minimal Ad prices scale with reach — local, state, national, or global; Profile Support has no feed placement, so reach doesn't apply. What each tier looks like, and who you can back, is in the Advertiser Guide.
Full Ad
Headline, copy, image or video, click-through link. Appears in the feed and on the individual stories, events, and posts people open.
From $49/month local · $199 state · $499 national · $899 global
Minimal Ad
A clean credit line — "Supported by Main Street Coffee" — with an optional link, shown in the feed and on the posts people open.
From $33/month local · $133 state · $333 national · $599 global
Profile Support
No ad in the feed. Your name (or Anonymous) appears as a supporter on the journalist's profile.
From $20/month, anywhere — supporters can give more if they want to back you harder
Who your support can go to
A specific journalist or publication
Pick them by name. 90% reaches them directly the moment your payment clears, 10% keeps the platform running.
My Local Press, or a geographic area
Back the platform itself, or a specific area you want to support. This part's a beta — tell us where, and we'll connect your backing with local journalists there as we onboard them.
How backing works in full — tiers, reach, and metrics — is in the Advertiser Guide.
Recurring monthly support
Every tier can be set as a one-time payment or as monthly recurring — predictable income for the journalist, predictable cost for the supporter. Cancel anytime from your settings.
A worked example (an illustration, not a forecast)
Aunt Sue backs her niece with $50/month Profile Support.
- • Sue pays $50 + Stripe processing fee (about $1.75)
- • Niece receives $45/month directly into her account
- • Platform receives $5/month
- • That's $540/year from one supporter — twelve like her would be roughly $6,500/year
This shows how the split works — it's not a prediction or guarantee of earnings. What you make depends on how many people choose to back you.
Why this happens on the web, not in the apps
App stores take 15–30% on every in-app transaction. That's money out of journalists' pockets for no real reason. Web payments — credit or debit card via Stripe — keep the only fee the actual cost of moving money: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
We may add in-app purchasing back as a convenience down the road. For now, the web keeps fees low and more dollars where they belong.
A note on the algorithm
How much of that advertiser money reaches each journalist, and which work we commission for special projects, will be weighted by engagement and the respect a piece earns from readers. It's a goal we're still shaping, not a guaranteed payout.
Quick answers
Can I pay from the mobile app?
Not right now. Visit mylocalpress.com from any browser to back a journalist or publication.
Can I get a refund?
Support payments aren't refundable — the journalist's share has already been transferred. For exceptional circumstances, reach out through our feedback form.
How do I cancel a recurring subscription?
From your settings, on the same page where you'd manage any other subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
More questions? Reach us through our feedback form.
We ship updates all the time, so a page here and there can fall behind. See something off? Have a question? Let us know and we'll address it.