What Is This?
Welcome to the Counter Read, a new newsletter from Erin Sorensen and Brandon Vogel aimed at sharing great stories, ideas and discussions around Nebraska athletics. A pair of Nebraska natives from opposite ends of the state, we spent the past decade working together at Hail Varsity. Alongside a talented team of writers, editors, photographers and designers, we were able to not just launch a premium print product in a media landscape where you were already a heavy underdog by doing so, but we kept it alive for 11 years. It was beautiful. We loved it. We were proud of it.
Then it was gone.
We still believe in the core proposition behind what we did there––story matters most. It’s an important part of what makes us human. It’s how we put a confusing world into the best sort of order we can. And, yes, that potentially lofty principle applies just as well to a simple football game or a discussion of the Huskers’ prospects at outside hitter.
That’s what the Counter Read will be, a place to read ideas about one of our home state’s great shared passions. Good writing, in our experience, comes down to two things––passion and voice. We have both, and that didn’t end with the end of a magazine. We needed a place to put those skills to use.
That place is here.
How Much Does it Cost?
You can subscribe to the Counter Read for $7/month or purchase an annual subscription for $70. If you’re already a big believer in our mission, you can really help us hit the ground running by becoming a Touchdown Club member for $150. For our Touchdown Club members we have some pretty great perks in the works. (That rhyme should tell you everything you need to know.) We’ll have more to share very soon, but we think you’ll be a fan of what’s to come.
Did we decide on the monthly and annual prices because seven is kind of a key number in football? Well, first we tried to land on a price that we felt reflects the quality of the work. But after that? Yeah. We like the idea of “a touchdown a month.” While we cannot guarantee that every paid subscription will result in a touchdown for the Huskers in their next game, we also can’t promise that won’t be the case. It’s up to the football gods. (And blocking, tackling, turnovers luck, injuries, weather, etc.)
What Do I Get?
A big part of the appeal to starting the Counter Read was the opportunity to keep the selling point simple in a crowded and constantly shifting media market. A subscription gets you two premium stories a week, right to your inbox. We will also publish free newsletters on occasion as a way to introduce us and our work to new readers, but subscribers will always have access to everything.
Subscribers will be a key part of not just helping us grow, but also shaping how we grow. We want to build a community. We want your feedback on what’s working and what’s missing. We are on our own at the outset, but the whole game is to change that as quickly as possible.
We’ll get there by keeping it simple: a “touchdown” a month for two good stories a week.
Still Have Questions?
Drop us an email at counterreadnewsletter@gmail.com or you can find us on X: [at]erinsorensen and [at]brandonlvogel
