THE CHARTER · 1,000 FOUNDING SEATS
Every colony has its first thousand.
The Colony OK is an independent Oklahoma newsroom, funded by the people it reports for. No chain owner in another state, and no advertiser with a say in the coverage. It is being built in the open, and this is the founding roll.Reading is free. No card.
Create a free accountArticle I
One membership, three tiers, a thousand seats — ever.
A one-time founding membership across three tiers. 1,000 seats. When they're gone they're gone — the cap never moves.
ColonistColonist
$500one-time · 2-year founding access · 600 seats
- Founding-only content for your full 2-year term
- Charter member profile with the blue Colonist seal
- Numbered digital founding certificate — yours permanently
- Permanent listing on the Wall of Honor — never lapses
FreemanFreeman
$1,000one-time · 5-year founding access · 300 seats
- Everything in Colonist, plus:
- 5-year founding access
- Enhanced, more prominent profile with the white Freeman seal
- Priority seating at Colony live events
ProprietorProprietor
$2,500one-time · lifetime founding access · 100 seats, ever
- Everything in Freeman, plus:
- Lifetime founding access — non-transferable
- VIP access at Colony live events
- A direct say in editorial direction — quarterly survey & vote
- An annual Founders dinner with Jake
- A custom Colony challenge coin — a physical keepsake of the founding
Not ready to found it? Join from $4.99/mo →
Charter Colonist is a one-time founding membership, not a subscription. Founding access runs by tier — 2 years for Colonist, 5 years for Freeman, and lifetime (non-transferable) for Proprietor — while recognition (your numbered certificate, seal, and Wall of Honor listing) is permanent for every tier and never lapses. It is not an investment — no tier offers any financial return, interest, or equity, and payments are not refundable or repayable. Charter Colonist is separate from the $4.99/month Founding Subscriber rate.
The founding roll
One-time. Not a subscription, and not an investment. Or subscribe from $4.99/mo →
Article II
A newsroom, a studio, and a channel — under one masthead.
Not a blog with a paywall, and we don't ask you to take our word for it. Every part of the platform is marked live or in build, honestly, on the status board. See what's live and what's next →
Article III
Advertising decides what gets covered. Not here.
Advertisers buy space. They do not buy stories, and members read without them.
Article IV
Founding is a matter of public record.
Every Charter seat is recorded permanently — name, tier, and certificate number — and your seal appears beside your name across the site. It does not lapse when your founding access term ends. Colonist seats run two years, Freeman five, Proprietor for life; the recognition is permanent for all three. There will only ever be a thousand names on it.
Article V
Questions.
The status board is the whole answer, and it is the same list we work from. Nothing on it is marked live unless it is — and the count is generated from those marks, not written by hand.
Dream Beyond
Dream beyond the news.
The newsroom is the foundation, not the finish line. Here is where a thousand founding seats can take this platform. None of it is promised for a date — the status board stays the honest map of what runs today — but all of it is the plan.
Full-length documentaries & movies
Feature-length work on Oklahoma stories that deserve more than a segment — funded by members, owned by no studio.
Faith services, streamed
Sunday services and gatherings from congregations across the state, carried live for the homebound and the far-from-home.
Local events & news
Fairs, ballgames, town meetings, and the county-by-county file — covered because you live there, not because it trends.
A newsroom is what we owe you. This is what we want to build you.
Article VI
If you're not ready yet.
A thousand seats is a real number and $500 is a real amount of money. If today isn't the day, leave an address. You'll get the weekly letter — what we filed, what we spent, and what moved on the status board.
Double opt-in, one click to leave. We don't sell it — Article III is the reason there is nobody to sell it to.
Oklahoma businesses: sponsorship, kept apart from the journalism →
A thousand names. Then the roll closes.
975 founding seats remain across all three tiers.
Not founding it? Subscribe from $4.99/mo →