Racket is a really interesting start-up publisher out of Minnesota. They call themselves “writer-owned, reader-funded” which sounds like a very good pathway for a lot of news start-ups. They use WordPress with Pico for payments:
Here’s their “why” behind the project: https://racketmn.com/about-us/
Racket is a brand new writer-owned, reader-funded website founded by a group of former City Pages editors (RIP).
We trade in the same fun and fearless journalism CP specialized in since 1979: Twin Cities news, politics, music, arts, culture, civic oddities, food and drink, and theater, plus local angles galore. And we do it in a way that doesn’t suck to read.
Why? Because it’s a super bleak time for media. Because there’s nothing else like us out there. Because you can never have too many outlets representing workers, artists, and independents. Because the Star Tribune is owned by a billionaire and the Pioneer Press is owned by a vampiric hedge fund.
Racket is owned by four journalists who live in Minneapolis: Jessica Armbruster, Jay Boller, Em Cassel, and Keith Harris.
We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to make this thing work. It’s money that goes directly to our writers, editors, photographers, and artists—not some billionaire in a board room.”
