Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.

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A quick programming note: You’ve probably noticed that my newsletter hasn’t contained much longform content lately. That’s because I’ve been retooling a few things and overhauling my workflow so I can produce content that’s packed with even more insights. I hope to start rolling it out next week.

In the meantime, let’s jump into it…

Quick hits

I've been asking questions to this AI bot that's been trained on my newsletter, and it's...actually not terrible? Like I don't think I could endorse 100% of the answers it gives, but I actually found myself agreeing with most of it. [Threado] I guess my main question I'm left with is how valuable this would be to my average reader. I knew exactly what questions to ask it — I focused on themes I've returned to repeatedly over the years — but would the answers be as accurate or tailored to my thinking for someone who isn't as familiar with my work? I dunno.

The New York Times seems to have cracked the code for developing addictive games that keep subscribers coming back over and over. [Fast Company]

Most news coverage of AI paints it as a revolutionary technology, but thus far it's mainly been used to flood the internet with shit content. [NYT]

Linus Tech Tips is a YouTube channel that scaled up to over 100 employees, which then produced all sorts of pressures to increase video frequency. That pressure seems to be causing some growing pains. [Tedium]

"As [Spotify] now seems to understand, very few podcasts are big enough by themselves to convince a fan to subscribe to a new platform — or even download a free app." [The Verge]

It turns out that if you stay relatively lean and cultivate a niche, highly-engaged audience, then it's possible to build a profitable media company. [Adweek]

I’m looking for more media entrepreneurs to feature on my newsletter and podcast

One of the things I really pride myself on is that I don’t just focus this newsletter on covering the handful of mainstream media companies that every other industry outlet features. Instead, I go the extra mile to find and interview media entrepreneurs who have been quietly killing it behind the scenes. In most cases, the operators I feature have completely bootstrapped their outlets.

In that vein, I’m looking for even more entrepreneurs to feature. Specifically, I’m looking for people succeeding in these areas:

• Niche news sites

• Video channels like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels

• Podcasts

• Newsletters

• Affiliate/ecommerce

Interested in speaking to me? You can find my contact info over here. (please don’t simply hit reply to this newsletter because that’ll go to a different email address. )

More quick hits

This study suggests that upwards of 40% of Google searches are answered by information provided from a media company. [Tech Policy Press]

"In 2023, is being a ‘freelance journalist’ basically a hobby?" [Press Gazette] I do think it's entirely possible to make a living as a freelance writer, but you have to be willing to take on work for brands. If you insist on writing only for traditional media outlets, then yes, you will probably have a hard time generating a living wage.

This journalist started an independent sports newsletter, grew it to a few thousand subscribers, and then tweeted a link to it to an Axios editor. He was then hired to launch a similar newsletter for Axios and grew it to over 500,000 subscribers by 2021. [Nieman Lab]

The Economist has a pretty strict paywall, which limits the amount of social media sharing of its articles. So its social team relies heavily on shortform video to promote the brand and drive subscriptions. [WAN-IFRA]

In 2021, Fortune poached the editor in chief of Business Insider, and since then she's been focused on bringing a print-centric magazine into the 21st century. [Press Gazette]

It’s such an honor to be included on this list of best media podcasts! [The Fix]

Do you sell a product targeted toward marketers, media executives, or professional creators?

What a coincidence! That’s exactly who reads my newsletter. You can find out how to reach them over here.

ICYMI: Overstory is one of the fastest growing media companies in Canada

This newsletter is only sent twice a week…

…but I’m actually curating this type of news on a daily basis. Follow me on one of these platforms if you want more up-to-the-minute curation:

1. Substack Notes

2. My private Facebook group

3. LinkedIn

4. My Threads profile is @simondowens