Substack's most recent overture to Bruenig was an offer of a $200,000 advance, double her Times salary, a person familiar with the discussions said. Substack executives have spent the past few months trying to entice some of the highest-profile writers at the paper, albeit with limited success.Īccording to people familiar with the outreach, Substack has approached Times writers including media columnist Ben Smith, who declined and disclosed the discussions in a recent column, opinion writer Liz Bruenig, and internet-culture reporter Taylor Lorenz. "Times colleagues who are interested in starting a newsletter should first explore doing it on our own platform, to avoid a project that could be competitive with the Times or conflict with their core work." Substack has actively recruited Times journalists "Because these sites are increasingly acting as direct competitors to The Times, such efforts will generally not be approved," the memo read.
With the effort underway, The Times told news and opinion staffers on Friday that managers had been fielding a number of requests from employees wishing to launch their own newsletters on platforms like Substack and Twitter's Revue, according to a memo obtained by Insider. Sam Dolnick - an assistant managing editor overseeing digital projects and a member of the Sulzberger family, who control the paper - is leading the effort with Adam Pasick, the editorial director of newsletters.Ĭhoire Sicha, who recently left his role leading the Styles section, will help with the project "for at least the summer," he wrote in an email to Styles staffers obtained by Insider. As writers across the industry think about striking out on their own, the paper is looking to offer more personality-driven newsletters written by Times staffers or by outside hires, insiders at the paper said. That wouldn't work, he was told, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.įor Times staffers the episode has underscored how the paper sees Substack: as a rival. When the tech writer Charlie Warzel told the New York Times opinion section that he was leaving to start a newsletter on Substack, he and his editors discussed how he could remain in an outside-contributor role.Ī few days later, The Times came back to Warzel.
The Times told staffers in a memo Friday that outside paid newsletters wouldn't likely be approved.Substack offered opinion writer Liz Bruenig a $200,000 advance, double her Times salary.The New York Times is readying a newsletter push as Substack comes after top journalists.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 kommentar(er)
