Activity tagged "independent media"

Posted:

don’t let the failures of some (major) news outlets disillusion you with media as a whole. and especially don’t let those failures desensitize you to attacks on free expression.

we can criticize media failures while also fiercely defending media freedom.

it is scary to see people responding to trump’s baseless lawsuits against the NYT and others with a shrug because of their complaints about those outlets’ coverage of him.

we can oppose lawfare against media institutions and also hold those institutions properly to account for poor coverage.

allowing authoritarians to target media institutions you don’t like only works until they decide to start targeting the ones you do — often ones with far fewer resources than the NYT and its ilk.

Posted:

A lot of Taylor Lorenz’s announcement about going independent resonates so strongly that it’s hard to pick just one paragraph to quote.

I’ve always operated in a weird liminal space, often labeled as an “influencer” or content creator as much as a journalist. And I am, and have always been, both. But the legacy media is not set up for people like me. The truth is that in today's media environment, these distinctions are meaningless. We are all part of the same media ecosystem; we can all have a voice online. These artificial lines were demolished years ago. The journalists I’m most inspired by today are those who have taken their voices back into their own hands— independent content creators who challenge powerful institutions and carve out their own space in a crowded media landscape. By going independent, I hope to do more of what I love: helping people understand the world around them, inspiring them to build a better internet, holding power to account, and honestly, having a lot more fun!! I want to do all of this without worrying about some corporate overlord and without the constraints of institutions that, at times, are more concerned with optics than with challenging power. I want to experiment with new formats in storytelling without navigating a vast corporate bureaucracy. I want to be able to write freely and speak directly to people via Substack, TikTok, YouTube, my podcast, and run my silly meme pages.

And as someone who often gets blasted for having strong opinions on the topic I write about (as though most “crypto media” journalists don’t), I especially have to highlight this:

I also firmly believe that the era of faux neutrality—the “view from nowhere” style of journalism—is over. I will always be upfront and honest about my perspectives and where I’m coming from. Sometimes you might disagree with me, or I might be wrong(!), and I’d rather hear that than pretend I’m not a human being with opinions. This transparency is, to me, the essence of trust in journalism.
"Introducing User Magazine".
Taylor Lorenz in User Mag.
Why I'm leaving legacy media to pursue independent journalism
Posted:

On "What I learned in year four of Platformer"

Really cool to see Casey Newton's update on how things are going over at the Platformer newsletter after they left Substack. A lot of it resonates with my own experiences:

It also feels like more honest, durable growth than we saw in 2023. ...
 First and foremost, we have an honest-to-goodness website now. One where we can easily modify the design, add new features, and grow our offering over time. One reason why I write so often about the decline of the web is that I love websites as products. And our new setup gives us almost unlimited flexibility as Platformer evolves. ...
Another key benefit of leaving: We’re much less vulnerable to platform shifts than we were before. I had long worried that Substack’s unprofitable business would eventually lead it to make decisions that were not in the best interest of our readers or our business. (Besides not removing literal 1930s Nazi content, I mean.) I still have that worry for my friends who choose to build their businesses on Substack anyway. But whatever happens, it will no longer affect Platformer, and that gives me me real peace of mind. ...
It’s a decision I’m proud of — because it’s a decision we made as a community. ... Having principles can be annoying and expensive. (And make you insufferable to talk to at parties.) But it beats the alternative.

It's also cool to hear that Platformer has enjoyed solid growth, which I know a lot of people worried about when leaving the promised network effects of the Substack ecosystem:

I’m proud to report that despite leaving Substack, revenue was up about 11 percent year over year. 

Not many newsletters operate on the scale of Platformer (mine certainly included), so I'm sure their experience is unique in many ways, but it's great to have another success story from a newsletter choosing to go the even more independent route.

"What I learned in year four of Platformer".
Casey Newton in Platformer.
Ever since Platformer left Substack in January, readers have been asking us how it’s been going. Today, in keeping with our annual tradition of anniversary posts (here are one, two, and three), I’ll answer that question — and share some other observations on the state of independent media over the past year.