After another conversation with a former journalism colleague looking for work last week, I posted this to Linkedin.
I was NOT expecting the response. Something like 400 people have reacted to this post and it’s easily become the most engaged thing I’ve ever posted on LinkedIn, or probably any other platform. It struck a nerve.
It’s as tough out there in the journalism world as I’ve ever seen it, and I graduated from J-School right before the Great Recession when the internet was just beginning to roil the media world. Facebook was gaining real momentum, local newspapers were shuttering and ad revenue was washing into the gutter. The idea that there would or could be a major adoption of online subscriptions was still years away. As bleak as it felt though, there was some optimism in the media space. New-ish blogs like Gawker, Curbed, Thrillist, Talking Points Memo and many others were popping up and making actual revenue. There was an opportunity in the disruption.
Right now, with Google’s search dominance waning, the sudden arrival of AI everywhere, and the general trend of people just forsaking websites for content on apps, it feels, well, a bit hopeless in media and journalism. I don’t envy the leaders of smaller and midsize media organizations who are navigating some seriously difficult waters. Multiple rounds of layoffs at two of my former employers (Gear Patrol and Hodinkee) can testify to this.
The bright spot? Small but mighty media empires built on platforms like Substack and YouTube, and creators who leverage tools like Patreon to capture direct subscription revenue.
This is the way to start a media business these days. Look at Track Star Show for example.
It started (I think) as an Instagram account, but is growing and feels like it could be a whole media empire/brand. Events? A Podcast? A video series? A documentary? All of this seems within reach for them…and soon.
The strategy is to start very small and grow slowly. The big media/big investment launches recently can’t get going. We saw this with The Messenger and I’m expecting the same fizzle for Life. Puck, on the other hand, built on the personal brands of its writers with real revenue, is going strong.
The same forces squeezing publishers (AI, gated app users) will likely squeeze creators too, albeit differently. So what’s going to happen to them? I recently came across this SXSW keynote from Patreon CEO Jack Conte and found it incredibly compelling, maybe the smartest thinking about the future of the creator economy I’ve seen. Conte started as a musician before launching Patreon and he has unique and deep insight into the evolution of the creator economy. As apps like TikTok hone their algorithm, he asks a scary question: Have we reached the death of the follower?
I won’t bother summarizing the whole thing because it won’t do it justice, but if you care about creativity online or are interested in how we make sure the internet stays a fertile ground for creatives and people making content (journalists included), just go watch. I think it will shift your POV.
In the meantime, I told one person who dm-ed me about that LinkedIn post that I was surprised it went so viral. She said, “I think many journalists are feeling undervalued these days, so many layoffs of good people and survivor’s guilt for some who remain. And the public attitude toward us now seems especially harsh.” I couldn’t agree more.
It’s rough out there for journalists. If you run a company and don’t have a journalist on staff to help you navigate this fraught digital/media/content landscape, you are missing out.
Watching this Week
Ok Montblanc, you got me. Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman doing sponcon for luxury pens? I can’t help it, I’m unabashedly into this.
BTW, those pens cost about $1000 more than my beloved Pilot G-2 07.
Here’s another film about mountains called Eight Mountains that also landed for me.
Reading this week
A look inside David Lynch’s mysterious ‘Thinking Room’ in Fast Company.
Magazines aren’t dying—just ask these indie publishers in Fast Company
It's about the Brand via Brian Newman
Still haven’t seen anyone use one, but the dumb phone boom is apparently real via The New Yorker.
A social history of the city told entirely through its restaurants in Grub Street
The disappearing Insta grid in One Thing.
Listening
I just discovered Strong Songs which is similar to Song Exploder, in that each episode takes apart a song to show it was made. But Strong Songs goes a little deeper on the craft and musicianship. Take this episode about “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, which is now on repeat for me.
And just because…
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Great stuff Peabo! Keep it coming buddy.