America was founded on a simple idea: No kings. No hereditary power. No aristocracy that hoards knowledge.

Right now, we’re fighting that battle on two fronts—and most people only see one of them.

You know the obvious threat. Authoritarian power is concentrating in fewer hands and democratic norms are collapsing. But there’s another aristocracy being built right under our noses: an information aristocracy.

Fewer and fewer publications that publish rigorously reported stories, in-depth analysis, and thoughtful responses to the day’s news are free to the public. Most mainstream media is either behind a paywall or depends on corporate advertising for their survival. This means that quality reporting and information is only available to those with the privilege of being able to pay. We think this is wrong and that is why we’re never going to have a paywall, even if it would benefit our bottom line. 

At The American Prospect, every investigation, analysis, and piece of accountability journalism we publish is free. We report for teachers, nurses, students, and organizers—not just those that can pay hundreds of dollars a month for subscriptions and Substack newsletters. When we break a story about monopoly power or worker exploitation, everyone can read it.

This only works because we’ve built a community of readers who care about keeping truly public-interest journalism alive. 

No kings in our politics. No aristocracy in our media. No gatekeeping the information people need to participate in their own democracy.