Advertising has long fueled media. In exchange for viewing a commercial or navigating around a pop-up ad, you’re able to read news articles and watch videos without paying money.
But what if advertisers were removed from the process altogether? That’s the basic idea behind Substack, a platform where readers fund writers and podcasters directly. The company sees its approach as a potential game-changer for media business models.
While advertising has played a pivotal role in monetizing media companies, the creators of Substack argue that it pressures companies to churn out content whose primary goal is to get eyeballs on ads, often at the expense of ensuring that the content is accurate and newsworthy.
Check out this episode of Challengers to see how Substack got started and where it might be heading in the future.