Oklahoman shakeup

I have a friend who quit his job of 14 years, with a kid in college and wife who teaches, to become a Substack columnist and social media influencer.

I think he's having some near-midlife crisis or something. Haven't figured out yet what he can tell me in his Sub newsletter that I may not already know. It's not like he's going to be charting new territory.

They don't live lavishly. Maybe his wife's income is enough, perhaps along with savings, for him to give it a whirl. Another friend has asked me about Sub a couple of times, too. IMO not worth the effort unless you already have some kind of following for subscribers, or just want some extra beer money. Or you live in a car near Walmart.

 

Substack is a terrible model unless you can get at least $10k a month in gross revenue, minimum.

 

I'm amazed by the story of a veteran journalist who doesn't get a lawyer to review a contract with clauses re: quasi-ownership and the obligations therein. But I suppose this is what can happen when you're dealing with someone who breaks an implicit trust.
This ultimately gets back to an industry so greedy and contemptuous of its employees that it drives many of them to unproven ventures that are just as wicked.

 

That struck me, too. And especially when you're dealing with someone (Koehler) who was apparently well-known to be a miserable prick to begin with.

But it definitely speaks to the desperation to get out of an abusive relationship and get to any greener pastures that may be out there, even if it is too good to be true.

 

This was an incredibly well-sourced brutal takedown written without any apparent personal animus. It let people who wanted to explain themselves do so, and it hung people with their own words. Also exposes “fake it til you make it” culture for what it actually is.

 

Remember a Washington Post story where this Koehler clown took victory laps and didn't have any hesitation commenting - while ironically criticizing The Athletic's sales tactics.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/14/local-sports-news-start-ups/

Now he doesn't want to comment about Sellout Crowd.

Fucking coward.

 

So, this was sent to me earlier today. It turns out that Mike Koehler has a history of selling folks a bad bill of goods:

https://vroomvroomveer.com/mike-koehler/

 

Lawsuit has been filed against Tramel, Koehler and two others by Big Dog Media (Bob Stoops, Toby Keith's estate and Hunter Miller) ...

"Sellout Crowd borrowed $721,500 on the line of credit but only repaid $249,719.22, the lawsuit claims."

https://www.readfrontier.org/storie...t-crowd-media-startup-sue-over-business-debt/

 

Holy fucking shit — did these guys not have an attorney read these guarantor documents?

 

Good for her. Sounds like the new gig may even be better than her previous one as a straight sports columnist. More freedom to do the long-form takeouts, hop in on big news stories when the need/opportunity arises.