A woman stands underneath the glass ceiling on the ground level at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing Michigan.

Dear Reader,

MLive is coming up on a significant anniversary, and I think it merits not just celebration, but a very important observation.

Last August, we began marking some of our journalism “Subscriber Exclusive,” and allowing access only to those of you who would sign up for a digital subscription, or who already had a print subscription.

Nearly 10,000 of you have subscribed in the ensuing year, which is heartening support for the journalism we do, and the journalists who do it.

But it also spawned lots of questions from readers: Why are you charging now? Why are some stories free, and others aren’t? How come some stories on important topics, like COVID, aren’t considered public service? What constitutes an “exclusive”?

Let’s consider COVID. In the wake of the pandemic and ensuing shutdown orders, small businesses have struggled to get back on their feet. It’s hard for them to hire and train new workers, the supply chain for certain items is disrupted, and – you probably have noticed – prices have gone up.

You likely do not question that too much. It costs money to stay in business and do it well.

But here’s the observation I referred to above: When you pay $24 for that salmon entrée at your favorite restaurant, the fish on the plate is a very small amount of that price. It also pays for the supplies, utilities and taxes, as well as the cooks and servers and accountants and attorneys.

So when we recently put a Subscriber Exclusive wall on this gripping story – “A Michigan County thought it largely dodged the pandemic. Then Dave and Paul Ebels died” – it’s important to understand it didn’t just pay for the effort for reporter Julie Mack and photographer Nicole Hester put into doing that particular story.

We weren’t making a statement that, “This story is worth $10 a month.” No, the subscription that makes that story available to you makes so much more possible.

That story, and others like it, also paid for “Lake Michigan: The Deadliest Great Lake,” an Emmy-winning documentary that chronicled an overlooked public health hazard. We didn’t charge for access to that. It also paid for “Mandatory,” a fascinating new podcast by Emily Lawler that MLive launched two weeks ago. That’s free to the public.

It also paid for statewide reporter Taylor DesOrmeau to write a story in May on how the state of Michigan was going to enforce newly changed mask mandates. That story was open to all because we believed it was vital to have the public come out of COVID informed, and the 430,000 of you who read that story confirmed our decision.

We also routinely make available stories on weather, breaking news in our local communities, updates on crimes and courts, and stories that may have an impact on your family or finances, such as your eligibility for stimulus payments or child tax credits.

You can tell I’m proud of the work we do, whether it is a Subscriber Exclusive or left open to MLive’s millions of readers. I’m also gratified that the journalism is important enough that so many of you have signed up to be digital subscribers.

So on the one-year anniversary of this journey together, I’m going to make an appeal to those who read our content but have not signed on: Show your support for all we do by purchasing an annual, full-priced subscription by clicking this link. It will be a one-time charge of $100.

Yes, we run sales promotions from time to time that offer lower prices. And there’s a month-to-month option available. But I’m encouraging you to consider the greater commitment and be a supporter of ALL of the important work done by MLive journalists around the state.

It’s just like that wonderful piece of salmon: When you pay the bill, you’re not saying “that dish was worth $24.” You’re saying you value having the restaurant in your community.

For those of you who just signed on, here’s your “dessert” – our best-selling Subscriber Exclusive stories from the past few months. Enjoy!

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John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions you’d like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at [email protected].