Kyle Tharp is the managing editor of FWIW, a newsletter and media company that tracks the internet’s influence on our politics.

Every week they break down digital spending, strategy, tactics, and trends in our elections. They highlight whose spending is up, whose is non-existent, and how campaigns, PACs and advocacy groups are leveraging online platforms to effect social + political change.

He also runs Campaigner, an interview series that explores the tactics that drive winning campaigns and highlights the players pushing the buttons.

We checked in with Kyle and throughout our conversation, we covered a ton of ground.

• How his media company FWIW News came to be
• His process for social listening
• The tools he can’t live without
• Things he’s reading, watching, and paying attention to
• His thoughts on the future of TikTok 
• The Twitter/Substack battle and how it’s hurting newsletter creators like him
• And so much more

According to Kyle: 

“I saw a gap in traditional political press coverage. There’s kind of a lack of knowledge of how the digital space works among the traditional DC political press core. I’m really trying to help fill that gap there by educating readers and journalists alike on different forces that impact our politics.”

As avid readers of FWIW, we can attest that Kyle does a phenomenal job of filling that gap.

Tune in to our conversation today and learn more.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to his newsletter today at FWIW.news and then follow Kyle on Twitter @kylewilsontharp and @fwiwnews.

Find all episodes of Hello Merge Tag at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts.