Time is running out to sign up for the next Going Solo cohort - the first class is next Thursday, Oct. 2 and we only have a few seats left!

The de- and re-platforming of Jimmy Kimmel and the news that TikTok could soon be controlled by a board of Trump-supporting billionaires, make it clearer than ever that independent media – from publishers to worker-owned collectives to the atomic level: individual journalists – is more important than ever.

We’ve had several reminders in just the past months that make it clear tech platforms and big media companies are unreliable spaces for independent voices. The threats hit hard in two important ways: (1) These actions (and the processes by which they’re reached) demonstrate an intent to limit the perspectives that reach audiences, and (2) They directly curb the ability for creators to make a sustainable living by pursuing their journalism:

None of these are outliers. They are reminders that big companies and platforms almost always prioritize their own power and profit over the needs of creators and audiences.

Or, in more corporate terms – “returning shareholder value” – above all else. 

It’s only been two years since Elon Musk took over Twitter, remaking it into X – and the platform is unrecognizable. It’s a cautionary tale of how quickly a change in ownership (and algorithms) can disrupt a technology company – and more, our shared culture.

The temptation to lean on platforms or establish yourself in a newsroom is obvious: both offer discovery, scale, and tools. But when we let them control our audience connection, we’re building our journalism on shifting sand. A tweak to an algorithm, a fee change, or a new owner can undo months or years of hard work.

That’s why creator journalists – and the funders, institutions, and allies who support them – must make independence a central priority.

👉️ This feels like a good moment to mention that this is the last week of Project C’s Back Indie Media Drive. Choose from 30+ independent newsletters to back with your dollars and support the journalists trying to build outside the systems listed above.

Independence doesn’t mean retreating from platforms (yet) because, really, where would we go? It does mean, though, doing everything possible to ensure they are just the distribution channels – not the foundation of your business.

Platforms and media companies are businesses with their own priorities and incentives. They can, will, and regularly do change the rules as it suits those interests. The future of creator journalism depends on refusing to let those rules dictate our survival. We have to pursue our own business outcomes in ways that are sometimes aligned, but often are not. 

The only durable path is to own our audience connections and stand together. That’s how we build journalism that lasts – not at the mercy of platforms, but in service of the people we aim to inform.

📌 53% of U.S. adults say they at least sometimes get news from social media, in a new study from Pew, with Facebook and YouTube outpacing all other social media sites as places where Americans regularly get news. A fifth of U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 3% in 2020, while 43% of adults under 30 say they regularly get news there, up from 9% in 2020.

📌 Oliver Darcy’s Status is growing. Last week, the media columnist turned indie newsletter-er announced the hire of two new writers (Bryan Lowry from The Wrap and and Vanity Fair’s Natalie Korach) and business lead – former Deadline chief revenue officer Stacey Farish.

📌 ICYMI, Coyote Media - the San Francisco-based collective newsroom startup – is live!

📌 The Verge’s Alex Heath is going out on his own, launching a newsletter on Substack. He will continue to work with The Verge as a video podcast host, though. Kamala Harris, too, is now publishing to the platform with the witheringly boring newsletter name “Kamala Harris’ Substack.”

📌 Fired Wired reporter Kylie Robison just launched a newsletter she promises she’ll “write about whatever the fuck I want.” Meanwhile, Wired just landed a super-friendly piece in Adweek: “As Wired Turns Its Journalists Into Influencers, Subscriptions Surge”

📌 Creators have arrived… in Vulture’s Movies Fantasy League.

📌 26-year-old Tristan Werkmeister joined Reuters as the news service’s first social video reporter back in January and now the news service has quadrupled its vertical video output.

📌 Youtube says it has paid creators more than $100 billion over the last four years.

📌 A new startup, Trustfund, is betting on a tool that allows journalism creators to band together to cross-promote, run shared subscription drives and offer bundle deals.

📌 beehiiv launched a raft of new features including more subscription tiers and native integrations with Dischord and YouTube.

📌 Dan Oshinsky resurfaced this post from July, so I will, too: Follow his simple steps for adding your newsletter’s logo to Apple, Gmail and Yahoo inboxes.

This issue edited by Justin Bank. 🙏