Somehow, Cape Cod Wave Magazine is 10 years old.
Today is our birthday. We would like to thank you for reading these last ten years. While we have tried to introduce you, photographically and with video, to every beach and hiking spot we have found on Cape Cod; and while we have also tried to highlight and promote all the great local original music being made on this peninsula; the reason for this magazine is our longform stories.
These stories, ranging from 2,000 words to 10,000 words, are not quick reads. They are deep dives. We spend a long time on them because we think they are important stories that deserve to be told.
Among these are our profiles – artists, musicians, politicians, surfers, teachers, writers, bartenders and scientists. Cape Codders.
They are all interesting. And every time we have written a profile, we have been surprised. It turns out that everyone is more than they first appear to be. Indeed, people contain multitudes. As does Cape Cod itself. The rich variety of our profiles attest to that.
Along the way, we were thrilled to add the great Tim Miller, film reviewer for the Cape Cod Times for decades, to our lineup.
And we have also continued to cover, in various ways, the most important story on Cape Cod – the relationship of jobs and wages to the cost of housing. It is a story that is becoming more urgent every year.
This magazine is free. There is no paywall. These stories, we believe, are important. We want you to read them.
We are often asked, How do you make money? The answer is, We wish we knew how to make money on journalism.
Sure, we could put a paywall up. Maybe it would work. Maybe it would not work. But the fact is that many of our stories would not have been read by many of you had we decided that money trumps the importance of journalism.
Is this bright? No. It is not bright.
We have never claimed to be bright. We are, as we said when we first started this magazine, just a couple of knuckleheads who believe in journalism.
But here’s the thing. Someone we know and respect once posted on social media that he would never pay for a paywall for any online publication. He was not referring to Cape Cod Wave, but the comment hit home with us.
It made us sad. But it also made us realistic.
Everyone else in America, including this particular poster on social media, charges for their work. But journalism is expected to be free.
And that’s why our stories are free. The stories are meant to be read.
Meanwhile, this is hard work. These longform stories are giant, ulcerative jigsaw puzzles that take a long time to put together. There is never just one way to put the puzzle together. But we do aim for the right way.
There is a donation button at the top of our page. For those few – and yes, we’ve noticed! – who have donated over the years, we are eternally grateful.
For all of our readers, we ask that you please consider donating. Read our stories first. Then donate if you believe this work matters.
On May 16, 2013, we launched with a story about a sunrise at Newcomb Hollow Beach. “Morning in America starts here,” was the first sentence of our first story. We still believe it.
Since then, we’ve been to a lot of interesting beaches, met some amazing people, heard some of the best music being made anywhere, and tried to make journalism still matter on Cape Cod. We certainly think it matters.
If you have followed along since the beginning, you know that Cape Cod Wave is a different kind of magazine. When we launched, there were a few glossy look-at-this-pretty-house magazines around. It was a successful business model, but we are not that.
Instead, we have tried, story by story, to paint a true picture of Cape Cod. We are not a news magazine. We are a magazine about Cape Cod. We sometimes cover news. Always, we try to shine a light on subjects, places, and people that deserve it.
Thank you again for reading.
– Laura & Brian
++
See also Looking Back: 10 Years, 10 Stories
My Dream 10-Year Anniversary Concert That Did Not Happen
Please see…
One summer in a beach town on Cape Cod… A Novel From Cape Cod Wave – “You Can’t Sell Right Field”
