Welcome to the new and improved newsletter!

Hello, dear readers.

I’m incredibly excited to announce a whole bunch of new and exciting improvements to Morally Straight this week.

First up: You’ve probably noticed things look a little different around here. The wonderful Patrick Burtchael has redesigned my logo/branding, and given this entire newsletter a fresh look. (Let’s be honest, my old logo was kind of basic, so this is a huge improvement). Thank you, Patrick, for the glow up.

Okay, now let me cut to the chase: I’m launching paid subscriptions! Here’s what that means: The weekly newsletter that you receive currently will remain free. Nothing changes about that. But I will be giving you all the opportunity to support my work for $8/month.

I hear you: Why pay for something you already get for free? Well, there are a few reasons:

• Your paid subscription will help keep this newsletter going, and help keep it free for everyone else. Up until this point, all the work behind this newsletter has been unpaid. And while this is a passion project of mine, it does take a significant amount of time that I might otherwise dedicate to paid work. So your financial support will mean I can spend more time reporting, interviewing and writing — all of things that make this newsletter worth your time.
• In addition to the free weekly newsletter, paid subscribers will receive something totally new: One in-depth article each month. These deep dives might be Q&As with experts, articles written by guests or detailed analyses of BSA policy/program. But they will all give you a deeper understanding of this story, and add more perspectives to the work of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Boy Scouts and beyond.
• And, as a little bonus, I’ll send paid subscribers a really cool Morally Straight sticker. Come on, everyone loves swag.

I’ve been truly blown away by the support and encouragement I’ve received from many of you so far. The readership of this newsletter has more than tripled since I started it 8 months ago. We reached hundreds more Scouters with the event we held in May. And now I’m hoping you’ll support me again in this next phase.

Let’s be honest: Without this newsletter, there is virtually no other coverage of how the Boy Scouts of America is changing, evolving and becoming more inclusive. Mainstream media coverage is focused almost exclusively on the bankruptcy and sexual abuse lawsuits (which are both very much worthy of coverage, too). But I want to be able to continue providing the inside story, and make my reporting and writing on this topic even more ambitious. Your support will help me do that.

I hope you’ll join me on the next phase of this adventure. To become a paid subscriber, you can go here to update your existing subscription or start a new one. Or if you don’t want to commit to a monthly subscription right now, no worries. You can also support my work as you see fit by donating to my tip jar.