And it crushes me, it crushes me that rupert got to piers morgan before we did, honestly. well, is there a contradiction, there? it s easier to build a brand around an individual with a strong opinion. i think that s. certainly one of the trends of the last few years is just this rise of opinion, and opinion blurring into news. i guess i would say i don t think that consumers are broadly thrilled with the way the news industry is, and with that development. some are, absolutely, and in a subscription business, maybe enough are for a lot of the businesses, it s actually very successful for them but my own experience of the times, in my own journalism, has been that people respond most strongly to the stories that don t disguise the journalist, aren t free of sensibility, aren t just the facts, ma am , but at the same time leave space for you know, are fundamentally reliant on the reporting and the information
Enough that the audience can feel like they know who they are getting their news from and feel connected to the people they re getting their news from, without stepping away from having a real news organisation and a guarantee, a central guarantee, of trust and a style and a voice. so, is this is substack with a newsroom attached? no, but i think that newsrooms that don t learn what s happening you know, substack s a small example, but really all of the talent industries, the whole media industry, certainly the entertainment industry, have shifted in a way that individuals, journalists like you and me, have direct connections with audiences on social media, and a lot of institutions the bbc, the new york times, the washington post are built to sort of have, you know, in which the brand, really, you are talking to the brand. thejournalist s name is in tiny font, and i think these days, the reality is that our audiences are connected to us, and the big challenge for any of these organisations to figuring out how to balance those two equities, and i think it s one
About how they see the world? it s hard to answer that in the abstract, but i think, basically.| don t want to hire people who a fair minded reader is going to think that they cannot totally trust on the subject. for any reason including because they have such a public stake in a side of an argument that you as a normal person are going to feel like it s going to be hard to trust them. i m interested to ask that question, because obviously rupert murdoch is investing heavily in opinion, and substack is really built around people whose opinions are really seen as valuable in and of themselves outside of a larger organisation. presumably, opinion has to be part of the equation here. i don t think we anticipate launching with much opinion journalism. i think there are ways, particularly getting scoops and breaking news, and a sort of open minded analysis that can connect with an audience without that kind of strident opinion that is often just
I think, if you talk to people certainly in the us and the uk, and many other places, if you either look at public opinion research or you ask them, you know, are you delighted, are you satisfied with the way the news being delivered to you, with the news you re getting? they will mostly say no, unfortunately. and i think there s a lot of things that we hope we can do well. one is hiring really great journalists and, you know, having their names, theirfaces prominent enough that the audience can feel like they know who they are getting their news from and feel connected to the people they re getting their news from, without stepping away from having a real news organisation and a guarantee, a central guarantee, of trust and a style and a voice. so, is this substack with a newsroom attached? no, but i think that newsrooms that don t learn what s happening you know, substack s a small example, but really all of the talent industries,
I actually think manyjournalists are eagerfor a new thing. i think there s been a pendulum swing, as it always does in this industry, you know, ten years ago towards lots of interesting new stuff, and then sort of a rush of people like me back to the new york times, back to the safety of these big established institutions, and i think there s a lot of appetite among journalists, actually, to try something new. could they be people who have strong opinions who are known for being public and strident about how they see the world? it s hard to answer that in the abstract, but i think, basically.| don t want to hire people who a fair minded reader is going to think that they cannot totally trust on the subject. for any reason including because they have such a public stake in a side of an argument that you as a normal person are going to feel like it s going to be hard to trust them. i m interested to ask that question, because obviously rupert murdoch is investing heavily in opinion,