In a “Post-Truth” World, Independent Media Is Our Hope

And why I love Substack

A couple of years ago I unsubscribed from the New York Times. It was in the early stages of the war in Ukraine and I came across an article arguing Ukraine can't win and pleading for “peace” at the cost of Ukraine’s territory. Then, I gradually moved away from CNN and unsubscribed from the Washington Post too. This was before the elections. The “both side-ism” bothered me. So did normalizing unacceptable words and deeds in the name of “being objective,” the double standards and the downplaying of threats to democracy. They are free to report however they want, but so am I to choose my sources of information and what I pay for.

At the same time, I was trying to find a platform to start writing informed opinion articles again. This is how I found Substack. It immediately felt like the right place.

The Rise of Independent Voices

There is now a phenomenon unfolding in front of our eyes, indicative of what the future of media may look like: the migration of both journalists and audiences to independent platforms, the transition from cable news to other forms of journalism like live streaming on Substack and YouTube. Media as a source of reliable information is not dead, it is transforming. In the so-called “post-truth” world, there is more than ever a hunger for truth, facts, reality and quality reporting.

Especially after the election, Substack has become a catalyst for independent media owned by no one but subscribers, no big corporations, no billionaires, no big money.

Many relevant and renowned names in mainstream media chose to leave their jobs or were pushed out after editorial interference. Instead, they have created and built independent platforms with editorial freedom and financed by their subscribers.

As most of the corporate media capitulated, with few exceptions, the need for accurate reporting, meaningful analysis and fact checking was filled by these rising platforms.

Let's look at a few examples of such journalists, writers and experts who left mainstream media and are now thriving on Substack (and YouTube I would add), providing great content and attracting bigger and bigger audiences: Jen Rubin who left the Washington Post and founded The Contrarian with Norm Eisen; Jim Acosta, who left CNN, now has a significant Substack platform Jim Acosta Show; Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman left NYT; Ryan Lizza left Politico and founded Telos News; Terry Moran left ABC; Pulitzer price winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes left WaPo after her cartoon - depicting big corporations and media obeying in advance - was censured, Joy Reid and Katie Phang left MSNBC, Don Lemon, who left CNN some time ago, is now hosting his own “Don Lemon Show”.

Add to them famous historians like Timothy Snyder, Timothy Garton Ash, Heather Cox Richardson; political scientists, international relations, security and foreign policy experts like Philips O’Brien, Daniel Drezner, Alex Vindman, David Rothkopf, Richard Haas, Ivo Daadler, Mick Ryan, Michael McFaul, Lawrence Freedman; autocracy and democracy experts like Anne Applebaum, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Julian Zelizer, Gary Kasparov; legal scholars like Joyce Vance; long-time journalists like Charlie Sykes, Dan Rather, Chris Matthews; public voices like Steven Beschloss, Robert Reich, Robert Hubble, and many many others.

Then, there are platforms built by former Republicans, traditional conservatives, political consultants like Steve Schmidt and The Warning, Adam Kinzinger, The Bulwark, Rick Wilson and Lincoln Square, Mary Trump hosting Mary Trump Media or former insiders like Michael Cohen and Lev Parnas. Or more liberal or progressive platforms like Persuasion. Or The Counteroffensive, a team of generous journalists reporting on the ground in Ukraine.

It is astonishing to have access to all these people's writing in one place, covering a multitude of subjects and offering a variety of perspectives. Most of their work is free for everyone to read, and if you want to support their efforts you can choose a paid subscription for the price of a coffee. It is more than worth it.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Who’s leading the way?

Before, this online space used to be dominated by far-right platforms and podcasters. Now Meidas Touch Podcast is number one in July industry rankings, tripling Joe Rogan in downloads and views.

I used to get my news mostly from MSNBC and CNN, now I take them from Meidas Touch Network and Aaron Parnas. I used to watch evening talk shows on cable TV. Now I watch live streams on Substack or YouTube, where I can comment, interact directly, and ask questions. And the experience is more friendly, intimate, and genuine.

In all fairness, there are notable exceptions. I kept my subscription to The Atlantic and I still watch Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow.

It is said that media is the “fourth power” in a state, metaphorically speaking. Independent media is a guardrail both against propaganda and against the nihilism that fuels authoritarian regimes.

When everything is relative and nothing is true, participation is rendered meaningless, the search for truth and facts is derided, science and education are marginalized, history rewritten and authoritarianism creeps in. Independent, high-quality, reliable journalism is intertwined with the fate of democracy. Today, instead of just having a couple of major players, we are seeing a network of platforms emerging, creating a new kind of media ecosystem. This gives me hope for the future.

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