on July 17, 2017, explaining a vision in which “publishers of news and similar content can be profitable through direct payments from readers,” Best and McKenzie evoked the 1833 debut of Benjamin Day’swhich ushered in media’s ad-supported model by combining mass circulation with a rock-bottom price. “Benjamin Day radically altered the future of journalism with a tweak to its funding model,” Best and McKenzie wrote. “Almost two centuries later, the news industry is ready for another reinvention.
Substack has also provided a soft landing for the Glenn Greenwalds and Andrew Sullivans and Bari Weisses of the world, who’ve positioned themselves as being cast out of polite media society, as it were, and are now making bank on Substack. The literati appear to be reaping the platform’s financial and creative rewards as well. “I’m enjoying it so far,” said Rushdie.
The exit post that got the most attention came from Jude Doyle, who was recruited by McKenzie in Substack’s early days. “I have major ethical concerns about continuing to take Hamish’s offer,” wrote Doyle, who later told me, “I see Substack, under the cover of freedom of speech, allowing some really horrendous viewpoints to enter the mainstream.… It no longer felt good or right.”
In early January, I was on a Zoom with McKenzie asking him about these very issues. I pulled up Substack’s content guidelines and noted that they prohibit hate, threats, violence, criminal behavior, doxing, plagiarism, even pornography. They don’t say anything about misinformation and disinformation.
Substack appears to be evolving in other ways as well. Late last year, Hollywood journalist Richard Rushfield announced he would be turning his influential Substack newsletter,co-president Janice Min to expand The Ankler into a full-fledged media company. The duo initially approached other companies, including Axios, about bringing The Ankler under their umbrella. But McKenzie convinced them to stick with Substack.