DAVID ADAMS, editor of Sight, responds to Facebook’s decision to cut its feed…
If you follow Sight on Facebook, you may have noticed that our feed – like so many others in Australia – disappeared on Thursday.
This disappointing move by Facebook, which took place in response to Australian Government moves to force the social media giant to share revenue it makes from news with media organisations (a plan which certainly hasn’t included Sight at this stage), has meant you can no longer access the story links we usually post daily on our Facebook page.
Sight’s Facebook page on Thursday.
This article is not the time to address the new Australian law – you can read more about it elsewhere on Sight. It’s simply a note of reassurance that, with the exception of our Facebook feed, Sight is continuing to operate as normal, meaning you can continue to access our stories through a wide variety of avenues.
We’re still publishing our regular social media updates on our other social media feeds including Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest (links are at the top of this page) and you can, of course, still come directly to our homepage to read our latest stories. But it might also be a good time for you to sign up to our free Sight Daily or Sight Weekly emails which bring our latest coverage direct to your inbox each weekday (or, in the case of Sight Weekly, each Monday morning). And there’s also a weekly prayer email you can sign up to. You can sign up to them on our ‘Subscribe’ page.
We are, of course, disapppointed that Facebook chose to make such a move without any formal notice so we could warn those who follow us on the platform (not to mention the impact the move had on non-news media organisations like health and emergency services in Australia). Facebook has played a role in sharing Sight’s coverage with people across the world – a service which we have at times funded – but it’s fair to say that the number of readers who come to Sight through Facebook links only account for a very small percentage of our overall readership.
Nonetheless, we pray the situation with Facebook (and the relationship between media organisations, the Australian Government and tech giants) is able to be resolved amicably and fairly and hope you’ll join us in that.
You also may not be aware that Sight is funded through a “pay what you can, if you can” approach. We have no paywalls on Sight – access to our content is freely available to all – and instead we rely on our readers and a small group of advertisers and churches to fund what we do. But only a small very percentage of our readers do support us financially, meaning we are currently operating on a very limited budget. So, if you’re not among them already and you can afford to do so, we’re asking you to prayerfully consider whether you could support us with a monthly financial contribution (options start at as little as $1 a month). To become a financial supporter of our work, head here.
Thanks, as always, for your support and if you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
David Adams is the editor of Sight.
