BySteve BurgeJune 11, 2025
At the beginning of 2022, Tyler Channel published a short two minute video to Twitter. The video was elegantly done and introduced The Welch News, a small newspaper in West Virginia.
That video led to a detailed article in WPTavern with more background on the newspaper and Tyler’s work.
Tyler runs PaywallProject and tried to keep newspapers like The Welch News in business. He offers a more affordable alternative to Newspack, which is run by Automattic.
This is important work, but it’s not easy and it’s not always successful. The Welch News stopped publishing about a year after Tyler’s video. They have plans to come back as a digital-only publication.
Fortunately, Tyler has continued his work with similar newspapers and PaywallProject continues to grow.
I emailed with Tyler about his goal for PaywallProject:
“This whole project was founded on the idea that all publishers should be able to benefit from paid digital subscriptions without having to worry about the technical complexities, strategy, and development. From day 1, my mission has been to help make local news publishers more sustainable. Whether a publisher is in a small town in West Virginia or they’re in a large regional market with a growing population, paid digital subscriptions continue to play a huge role in supporting the continuation of local news.
Olivia once sent me a handwritten letter (yes, really!) with her grandmother’s secret banana pudding trick. I had to invite her in. She now writes for us and tests every recipe in her own tiny kitchen.
We’re just a bunch of regular people who fell in love with the comfort of banana pudding. If you’re here, you probably feel the same. Thanks for stopping by—grab a spoon and stay a while!