The Business of Content with Simon Owens

My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   The podcast company Sonoro launched in 2020 with a relatively simple thesis: that there were very few media companies geared toward the 62 million latinos within the US. Over the next four years, it built out a stable of dozens of podcasts across several formats ranging from serialized nonfiction to personality-led chat shows. In addition to the standard podcast monetization models, it also sought to further capitalize its IP by selling adaptations to Hollywood studios and developing its own merch lines. Today, the network generates over 100 million monthly downloads and works with some of the world’s biggest latino creators.   In a recent interview co-founder Joshua Weinstein explained how the company partners with talent and walked through all the ways it’s monetizing its IP.  

Alexis Grant, founder of They Got Acquired, navigates the world of small media business sales, having successfully sold her own outlets. She shares her insights on maximizing sale prices by emphasizing the importance of audience and SEO. Grant discusses the emotional and financial aspects of selling, insightful strategies for monetization, and the differences in valuing media versus SaaS businesses. She also highlights the challenges of maintaining operational independence and the crucial role of advisors in smooth transitions.

My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Given the tumultuous economic landscape for local news, many outlets are turning to nonprofit models because they offer increased flexibility for generating revenue. But while these outlets have been adept at attracting foundation grants and small donor memberships, they’re not doing enough to cultivate relationships with the wealthy members of their own communities, many of whom can write much larger checks than your average reader.   At least that’s the thesis of Julie Rafferty. She not only has a deep background in consulting with nonprofits, but she also played an instrumental role in co-founding Brookline News, a nonprofit media outlet that operates outside of Boston.    In a recent interview, Rafferty walked through how she got wealthy members of her city to fork over $100,000 before the outlet even launched, and she gave some good advice on how other nonprofit newsrooms can identify and reach out to rich people in their own communities.  

My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/   If you work in the media industry, you’re likely aware of The New York Times tremendous success with its gaming vertical; in fact, millions of people subscribe solely so they can play games like Wordle and Connections.   But it’s not the only publisher that’s incorporated games into its business strategy. Hundreds of outlets ranging from Morning Brew to The New Yorker utilize a platform called Amuse Labs to build everything from crosswords to sudoku. In a recent interview, co-founder John Temple explained how publishers can leverage games to increase everything including time on site, repeat visits, advertising revenue, and paid subscription conversions.  

Josh Schneps, CEO of Schneps Media, shares how his mother founded a single Queens newspaper in 1985, which has now become a massive community news force across New York, Philadelphia, and Palm Beach. He discusses the importance of local representation and targeting diverse audiences. While navigating the challenges of digital advertising, he reveals innovative strategies for engaging affluent readers and sustaining advertising partnerships. Josh also highlights how community events play a crucial role in connecting with local audiences.

My newsletter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/   Earlier this year, China crossed a major milestone when BYD, an electric car company based in its Shaanxi province, surpassed Tesla in total sales. What’s more, most experts believe the country is only at the beginning of its EV dominance. In a recent Washington Post article titled “How China pulled ahead to become the world leader in electric vehicles,” journalist Christian Shepherd explained how the country’s centralized, top-down government prioritized every level of the supply chain, from the building materials to the manufacturing to the charging stations.    In a recent interview, we discussed what decisions the country made over a decade ago to incentivize EV production, to the point where it can sell cars at nearly half the price of its non-Chinese competitors. We also explored what the US would have to do if it wants to catch up.  

My newsletter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/   They walk among us, almost completely undetected. If you notice them at all, it’s because they’re pulling a discreet tin out of their pockets so they can replace the small, white pouch hidden above or beneath their molars.   Yes, I’m talking about Zyn enthusiasts. Though the nicotine pouch came to our shores over a decade ago, it’s only within the last few years that its reach expanded from the boiler rooms on Wall Street to the open office cubicles in Silicon Valley.   How did the product develop its obsessed fanbase? To answer that question, I turned to Carrie Battan, the author of a New Yorker piece titled “Zyn and the New Nicotine Gold Rush.” In our interview, she traced its origin as a Swedish cigarette replacement, explained why it has the potential to radically expand the nicotine-delivery industry in the US, and assessed the science as to whether nicotine is even bad for us when it’s not absorbed through the lungs.  

My newsletter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/   Heading into 2025, we knew that MrBeast had a huge online following. After all, his main channel has grown to over 300 million subscribers and 74 billion views. He’s built out an entire studio in North Carolina and is mobbed by legions of fans wherever he goes.   But what we didn’t know was whether this online fame would translate into traditional Hollywood success. MrBeast famously signed a $100 million deal with Amazon to create one of the most ambitious game shows of all time, and it debuted in December with 1,000 contestants and $5 million in grand prize money.   Flash forward to today, and it’s clear that the show was an unequivocal success, with Amazon claiming it reached record viewership numbers. Now, Hollywood studios are casting about for other projects that can be helmed by popular creators.   What will those projects look like? To answer that question, I spoke to Lucia Moses, the co-author of a Business Insider piece titled “What MrBeast can teach Hollywood.” We discussed why previous creator-led shows failed, how the Beast Games viewership compared to other popular shows, and whether MrBeast’s production mishaps that led to a class action lawsuit will give studio executives any pause.  

My newsletter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/   When JJ Hornblass got his first journalism job in the 1990s, his dad made a deal with him: he could spend a few years as a reporter, but he had to eventually make his way over to the revenue side of the media business. It only took JJ a few years to follow through on that deal.   While working as an editor at American Banker, he pitched his bosses on launching a print newsletter covering the mortgage securities market. When those bosses took too long to make a decision, he left his job to launch the newsletter on his own. Flash forward 30 years, and that newsletter has grown into Royal Media, a B2B media company that covers four niche industries.   In a recent interview, JJ explained where he found his initial subscribers for that first newsletter, how he expanded into new verticals, and why he’s so focused now on building and selling access to data platforms.  

My newsletter: https://thelongstory.substack.com/   The Dispatch was launched in 2020 with a pretty straightforward thesis: that people would pay for quality, fact-based journalism. It certainly had a partisan lean – it was co-founded by conservative journalists Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes after all – but it steered clear of the wholesale rejection of reality that’s rampant in most pro-Trump media.   Flash forward to 2025, and that thesis has been vindicated. It recently crossed 45,000 paid subscribers without the help of huge VC investors. Now, it plans to diversify its revenue streams, and to accomplish that it brought on Mike Rothman, a longtime media veteran who helped build companies like Thrillist and Fatherly.   In a recent interview, Mike walked through his decision to join The Dispatch, what kind of advertising he wants to sell, and why brands are suddenly interested again in sponsoring politics media.