UnTelevised Media's current /donate page only accepts one-time donations, lacking a mechanism for recurring financial support. Implementing recurring memberships/supporter tiers via Stripe subscriptions will create a sustainable revenue baseline, enabling better operational planning, hiring contributors, and investing in journalism.
## Problem UnTelevised Media's `/donate` page accepts one-time donations, but there is no mechanism for recurring financial support. One-time donations are unpredictable and cannot support operational planning. Recurring memberships — even at $5/month — create a sustainable revenue baseline that allows an independent outlet to commit to ongoing coverage, hire contributors, and invest in investigative journalism. The `/join` route already exists as a skeleton page, demonstrating intent without implementation. Without a functional membership subscription flow, the site has no path to financial sustainability beyond AdSense and sporadic donations. For an independent outlet competing against algorithmically favored corporate media, reader-supported memberships are not optional infrastructure — they are the operating model. ## Background & Context - **Stripe**: Industry standard for subscription billing. Handles PCI compliance, recurring billing, payment method management, dunning (fail