Athletic, Axios talking merger?

Marc Stein Leaving New York Times, Moving to Substack

 

How many newsletters can one person subscribe to? I don't hear ANYTHING from civilians about Substack.

 

Well, slap me on the belly with a frozen fish.

 

Substack is the new “Why I’m joining The Athletic” but for hacks claiming they’ve been cancelled

 

This makes no sense. How have Marc or Molly been cancelled? Marc, for one, is widely respected in the industry.

More likely, it's a quality of life decision. No editors, for one (that would drive me crazy; I love editors and sometimes editing). Write what you want, when you want, however long you want. Travel, or don't.

I do wonder if leagues and teams will credential writers from substack. The BBWAA and other sports media orgs give out lifetime honorary credentials, but they're rare. And one of the things we take for granted when working for a media org is the office managers who spend way too much time fighting on the behalf of reporters for credentials.

 

Bari Weiss is always whining that everyone’s trying to cancel her, and then she’ll turn around and write weird shit like “I was taking a bath the other night sipping a martini and thought to myself, is it morally right for Israel to bomb innocent Palestinian children?”

 

I wonder how many people have done this and have 10 or fewer subscribers. Could be a real kick to the ego.

 

It amazes me how many friends on Facebook will tell me “You should be a writer!” without ever knowing that I was one for years. I try to explain that I’ve grown fond of having groceries and healthcare, but still they insist. I ought to invite them to subscribe to my (non-existent) Substack just to hear the chorus of crickets.

 

I don't need to start a Substack to know I'd have 10 or fewer subscribers.

 

Agree. I've never heard anyone say anything even remotely akin to "I was reading this on Substack from Ollie Opinionator and it said this and that."

Who's reading all these Substack newsletters? How many of them do they read a day before listening to all the podcasts they're supposed to listen to and then get their work done before checking social media and enjoying a final podcast and one last pre-bedtime Substack newsletter? It has to be exhausting.

 

Substack is increasingly where the, uh, “progressive resistance” has gone. Writers and readers.