Watching new entrants in the newsletter space
Thinking of starting a newsletter in the new year? You’re not alone. Judd Legum, the founder of the successful Substack newsletter Popular Information, is starting a second one, this time focused solely on the world’s richest man and Trump ally, Elon Musk, writes NPR’s David Folkenflik. The media critic Dan Froomkin is adding one centered on what he calls the “fighting back” community in the Trump era. It will be called Heads Up News, he wrote in an introductory installment.
Going for a different audience — the C-Suite — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is moving from the Financial Times to Semafor to run a new product called The CEO Signal whose main feature will be a weekly newsletter, Bron Maher writes for Press Gazette. It’s aimed at executives of companies that bring in more than $500 million a year.
Why some newsletters succeed and others don’t has become a fascination of media watchers in the age of Substack. It’s an elusive alchemy. But newsletter expert and consultant Dan Oshinsky has assembled a collection of lessons he learned about the craft in 2024. Among them: Go with your gut. “At the end of the day, this is your newsletter, not someone else’s,” he writes. “When in doubt, trust your instincts.”
News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.
Civic Discourse & Democracy
>> CNN defamation case foreshadows Trump media crackdown, experts say (The Guardian)
The prosecution of a defamation case against CNN by a U.S. security contractor in Afghanistan has “almost exactly mirrored” President Trump’s stance toward the media, foreshadowing an aggressive crackdown on media independence, experts told Richard Luscombe. The underlying motive is to scare the press away from publishing anything critical, he writes.
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Culture & Inclusion
>> Why the future of #MoreLatinosInNews might be in Idaho (Nieman Reports)
In Idaho, journalists Nicole Foy and Ximena Bustillo “were tired of leaders saying they wanted to diversify their newsrooms” but that there were too many obstacles. So the two went to work to “fill the gap” between newsrooms and aspiring Latino journalists,” they wrote for Nieman Reports. The result was the Voces Internship program, which they say has helped double the number of Latinos in Idaho newsrooms.
- Related: Public Media Journalists Association awarded grant from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support “Opening Doors” program for BIPOC journalism students (PMJA)
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Community Engagement & Trust
>> Irish Times finds instant engagement on Instagram (INMA)
The Irish Times, known for its news coverage, used Instagram to help draw in younger audiences with topics that affect them directly, writes Paula Felps. It used a number of strategies to engage them on the visual platform. Among them, creating a digital version of Letters to the Editors “that focused on quirky, touching, or provocative letters,” she writes.
>> Join us: Source tracking fosters responsive engagement and improves your journalism (ONA)
What can you do to bridge gaps with communities that your news organization hasn’t served well? Register for this Online News Association session on Jan. 30 at 12:30 p.m. ET, where journalists and API team members will share how to improve your community journalism using our tool for responsive engagement, Source Matters.
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Revenue & Resilience
>> NYT eyes U.S. subscription bundle partners (Axios)
Sara Fischer writes that The New York Times pitched a bundling idea to The Ankler, a deal that didn’t come to fruition but provides a window into The Times’ growth strategy in the U.S. It’s been using partnerships internally for a few months but is now looking at doing the same domestically, Fischer reports.
>> Join our webinar: Diversifying Revenue Series: Strategies for retaining paid subscribers
Table Stakes alumni are invited to join us Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. for a conversation with Table Stakes coach Anthony Basilio about how news organizations can improve their retention of print and digital subscribers. Reserve your spot.
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What else you need to know
⛈️Local TV meteorologists deliver tearful farewell as stations replace staff with The Weather Channel feed (CNN)
📺 CNN poaches WaPo vet Philip Rucker (Axios)
✒️ Jules Feiffer, cartoonist of acerbic wit and satire, dies at 95 (The Washington Post)
💸 Murdoch’s News Corp offers Prince Harry settlement to resolve years-long lawsuit (NPR)
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