Your donations enable National  Parks Traveler to bring you these gorgeous photos from the parks, along with news that helps you get more out of your national park adventure/Rebecca Latson file.

"I worry that the success of The Times is crowding out the competition."

That's the word from the New York Times' new media columnist. If you missed his column the other day, and value the concept of a robust and diverse news media, it's worth a read. In short, Ben Smith expressed great concern that the Times has turned into a "digital behemoth crowding out the competition."

For consumers of news, it's a sobering column. For small media organizations such as National Parks Traveler, it's downright scary. Readers should be concerned if they value not only different perspectives, but also niche subject matter, such as national parks.

The Times does do the occasional national park story (and the Gray Lady actually sought out Traveler's help for a story on the Caneel Bay Resort at Virgin Islands National Park that ran earlier this year). But the Times doesn't provide a regular, daily diet of park stories that runs the gamut from campground openings and RVing the park system to congressional hearings, news on the National Park Service budget, climate change impacts to the parks, and questions into the state of the history mission of the Park Service.

Through the past 15 years we've scratched and clawed, cinched our financial belt more than once, recruited volunteers, and worked with a small but passionate group of freelance writers and photographers who realize our financial straits but believe in the mission and cut us some slack when it comes to pay. 

We've nurtured a far-flung (and growing) audience of some 3.5 million readers a year, and our podcast series is gaining audience, too. At last look, listeners in 62 countries have downloaded at least one episode.

But here's the point: While we don't require a subscription for our content, a "free media" is not free.

If you look forward to our articles and podcasts, believe in what we're trying to do, and want to see more content in various formats from more parks, support the cause with a donation. We've made it easy for you to support the Traveler, too. Sign up to donate $10 a month. If just 1,000 of those 3.5 million readers who found something of interest on the Traveler last year would do that, it'd provide a significant lift for our mission.

Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, editorially independent media organization. We rely on you.