2024 was an outstanding year once again for the HoriZone Roundtable. If you’re reading this, you already know what we’ve produced, which includes not only the regular podcast but the new Expand Your Horizon: Preview Edition pod. That also includes the countless articles during the regular season and post-season, the debut of our offseason features, and, of course, Preview Week, which included, for the first time ever, previews of all 22 men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as our annual preseason polls and All-League teams.
When the HoriZone Roundtable site debuted nearly six years ago, I hadn’t really laid out a vision for what the site would become. I just knew that Sportshax, our former podcast host, was reaching the end and it was time to move control of the pod to a standalone site.
Six months later, and every day since then, the HoriZone Roundtable has been dedicated to providing the best coverage of men’s basketball. We expanded that coverage in 2021 to include women’s basketball, and the goals have always been the same.
2025 is where you all come in.
One of the major disadvantages we have had over the years is our inability to pay writers on a regular basis, with the lone exceptions being the Preview Week articles and, most recently, our offseason features.
It has bothered me to no end that my out-of-pocket costs to pay writers even a little bit ($25/article) would be more than I could handle individually. Here’s how that would break down:
| Preseason Features (1 per week) | 17 | $50.00 | $850.00 |
| Preseason Articles (2/week average) | 54 | $25.00 | $1,350.00 |
| Preview Week Articles | 26 | $50.00 | $1,300.00 |
| In-Season Articles (22/week) | 374 | $25.00 | $9,350.00 |
| Tournament Articles (HL/NCAA/etc.) | 10 | $25.00 | $250.00 |
| Subtotal | $13,100.00 |
Now, we do generate some money, thanks to our Patrons, the sponsorship from the Horizon League of the Expand Your Horizon venture, and ad revenues via Google Adsense. But that only totals $1,600 annually, likely enough to cover Preview Week and the features, but certainly not articles during the season. And that estimate is assuming writers only contribute once week, because as you’ve seen, some of our current writers are far more prolific.
And I hate to say this, but we still don’t have writers for every team still, and one of the main deterrents is likely that under current situations, they won’t write for free. The same is true of some of the writers that have left us, That’s totally understandable.
This should not be the case. As sports fans we (and I’ve been guilty of this as well) have gotten too used to getting great articles, columns and podcasts without having to bear any costs to support these contributors financially. It’s an unsustainable model and, as we’ve all seen, has led to some of the most talented writers leaving to find work outside the industry. The need to eat and pay rent, of course, always supersedes passion for writing, which is unacceptable.
This is why I come to you, the fans, to help step up financially. To those who are Patrons, we thank you once again and if you do wish to contribute more to us, that would be outstanding. And for the rest of you, fundraising will start sometime in January. I am working out how we will go about that, but we will let you know.
To be clear, any dollars contributed, either through Patron or elsewhere, will go directly to our writers, period. I will continue to assume any additional operational costs beyond editorial. Our initial goal is to raise $12,500 for this year, based on our current revenues. And this is the floor, as I recognize that $25 per article is a pittance, in the grand scheme of things. But it is a start. It also provides us with some incentive for prospective writers to join us who otherwise wouldn’t.
Also, we do thank the Horizon League for providing us with sponsorship of Expand Your Horizon: Preview Edition. And we invite businesses and other organizations to advertise with us as well. I have long been interested in acquiring a naming sponsorship opportunity for Preview Week, so please feel free to email me at horizoneroundtable@gmail.com about that and other opportunities.
Update
You can donate now using the form below. Thank you!
