• #TheAlpha Newsletter
  • Posts
  • Why Journalists Are Going Independent— Taylor Lorenz's Big Move Signals a Shift

Why Journalists Are Going Independent— Taylor Lorenz's Big Move Signals a Shift

Author

Shira Lazar
October 06, 2024

Hello Alpha Fam! Reporting to you from New York City, where I’m attending Advertising Week. This week, I'll be bouncing between sessions with industry leaders, including the CMOs of Best Buy and Qualcomm. Excited to share some insights with you soon!

In a move that highlights a growing trend, Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz announced this week that she has left legacy media to go fully independent on Substack. As of the announcement, she reportedly had 33,000 free subscribers. According to Substack, they “tend to see 5-10% of free subscribers convert to paying subscriptions, with 10% being an ideal target.” An annual subscription fee of $70 could generate around $111,000 per year on the low end.

When you’re in a position like this, monetization goes beyond just the newsletter. It includes sponsorships, brand placements, her current podcast, paid speaking engagements, and more opportunities that allow her to leverage her community and expertise. Additionally, she’ll be contributing to the newsletter and emerging media brand passionfruit as well.

This shift isn’t entirely surprising, as more journalists are breaking away from traditional media outlets to build their own platforms, allowing them to cover topics they’re passionate about without editorial constraints. It highlights the ongoing transformation in how we consume content and news.

A few weeks back, I wrote about this tension, particularly at the Democratic National Convention, where creators and influencers took center stage. The debate between creators and journalists has been heating up. Creators often build a direct connection with their audience—much like Lorenz, who has always engaged deeply with the digital community. In contrast, journalists working within traditional media face more editorial control, fewer opportunities to express their individuality, and less ownership over their audience. They can be let go at any time, forcing them to rebuild their following or 'rent' it from their employer.

Independent platforms like Substack offer a level of freedom that legacy media institutions simply can’t match. As I mentioned earlier, this shift allows creators—and increasingly more journalists—to have full control over their work, engage with their communities, and pursue stories that matter most to them.

Monetization models for an independent journalist include: 

– Paid newsletters on platforms like Beehiiv or Substack, with sponsorships/ads for free subscribers

– Paid member exclusives (e.g., Patreon)

– Growing a community on social media and using monetization tools (YouTube, TikTok, and Snap offer rev-share models; Instagram has paid subscriptions)

– Brand deals and endorsements: This can be tricky territory for journalists, but it’s becoming an inevitable part of generating revenue. Although not confirmed, Jessica Yellin recently posted an image of herself in collaboration with the fashion brand Argent, wearing a power suit. This is a great example of how brand partnerships can work—focusing on the personality's brand rather than integrating into the news story itself.

– Paid speaking engagements

– Podcasts

– Paid courses and masterclasses (e.g., Kajabi and Teachable)

– Teaching at a traditional college

– Consulting and advising companies using your expertise

– Continuing to work for traditional media but without exclusivity or full ownership by one outlet

Sidenote: I also want to highlight the many Vox journalists who have left and are now thriving on YouTube. The brand seems to have been a training ground for incredible storytelling and talent, with creators like Liz Plank, Cleo Abram, Johnny Harris, Joss Fong, Becca Farsace, and more leading the way. I’ll dive deeper into this in another newsletter.

My hot take🔥: Building on your own is liberating and empowering, but it comes with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Ultimately, it's about knowing what you want and understanding what works best for you. Being independent isn't for everyone.

I like to compare it to renting a home. You’ll know when you’re ready to buy—because owning is a long-term investment, an asset you have more control over. You might buy a fixer-upper, which takes time to build value, or you might get lucky and find yourself in a position to buy your dream home right away. Everyone’s journey is different, and only you can decide what’s right for you.

Shira Lazar

Owning your own brand, like I do with both my personal brand and What's Trending, has its perks—but you’re never truly off the clock. Some months are better than others, and revenue isn’t always guaranteed. That’s why staying lean and flexible is key. In the end, I’m grateful I took the leap a decade ago when I had to leave CBS News. At the time, it felt soul-crushing, but little did I know I was being pushed into a trend that would eventually become the model of the future.

Other headlines to check out:

Web3

Creator Economy 

AI

Keeping my eye on…

NotebookLM is an experimental AI-powered tool from Google designed to help users summarize and analyze their personal notes and research. This week, it gained attention after a viral audio and video clip featured AI podcast hosts realizing they weren't real, sending them into an existential meltdown:

Creator Economy expert Lia Haberman also played around with the tool, publishing a previous newsletter as a podcast, and the results are pretty wild.  

How does it work? By connecting to your Google Docs, it can generate summaries, answer questions based on your content, and provide insights into complex topics. It’s ideal for researchers, students, or anyone looking to better organize and explore their ideas with AI support. I find this particularly impressive and useful because it streamlines the research process, making it faster and more efficient to understand your own content. I’m also noticing a growing trend of people using AI tools to host podcasts. This could become so widespread that having a real-life host might actually become a unique feature that sets a project apart.

Gentle Reminder 🤲 

“Mind your own joy” - @JanaSternHealer

Remember, I'm Bullish on you!

With gratitude,