Substack's Founder on News, Money, and Musk

Nov 18, 2024

Chris Best, Co-founder and CEO of Substack, and Jen Gerson, a prominent Canadian journalist, delve into the transformative impact of Substack on the media landscape. They discuss the freedom it offers journalists, allowing for profitable self-publishing. The duo also tackles hot-button issues like Substack's controversial content moderation and the platform's rivalry with Twitter. Personal stories highlight the shift from traditional media roles, emphasizing the need for audience connection and preserving journalistic values in this evolving environment.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

The Substack Shift in Journalism

04:13 • 6min

Navigating the New Media Landscape

10:21 • 12min

Core Skills and Platform Rivalries in Journalism

22:36 • 7min

Navigating Content Moderation in Independent Media

29:16 • 12min

The Role of Free Speech and a Call for Support

41:08 • 3min

Passion for Canadian Storytelling

43:59 • 2min

The Unique Culture of Independent Journalism

45:33 • 3min

Journalists have flocked to Substack. Abandoning legacy titles to pursue self-puslishing freedom at the occasionally controversial app.

Substack has incubated Bari Weiss's Free Press and Andrew Sullivan’s The Weekly Dish. Here in Canada, a lot of names that Canadaland listeners may be familiar with are thriving on Substack: Terry Glavin, Sam Cooper, Justin Ling, Jen Gerson and Paul Wells to name a few..

Valued at 650 million dollars and lauded as a threat to Twitter. It is a rare sign of hope and innovation and a working revenue model in a very desolate media landscape. And all of that has come with the usual share of controversies.

Top of that list was their “Nazi problem.” They garnered headlines and debates about freedom of expression when it was revealed that there were, yes, Nazi Substacks charging money. And the parent company, apparently taking their cut of those profits.

Today Substack founder Chris Best joins Jesse Brown to debate Substack’s controversies and discuss its possibilities with leading Canadian Substackers, Jen Gerson of The Line and Paul Wells.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Production Manager), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured guests: Chris Best, Jen Gerson, Paul Wells

Further reading:

The Line — Substack
Paul Wells — Substack

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