Simon Owens
@simonowens.bsky.social
đ€ 2147
đ„ 584
đ 3181
Media industry journalist who runs a newsletter and podcast. You can reach me at
[email protected]
Should the media be afraid of Google Zero?
youtu.be/4cpuznafIKM?...
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Should the media be afraid of Google Zero?
YouTube video by Simon Owens
https://youtu.be/4cpuznafIKM?si=bn9y8-kpzqPbXKuc
about 6 hours ago
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I think part of the reason the major sports leagues are so keen to work with creators is because itâs so low risk for them. In most cases, they arenât actually paying these creators, just offering them VIP access, and none of the content these creators produce will cannibalize the value of the live
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NBA Turns All-Star Weekend Activities into a Content Factory for 200-Plus Creators Who are Converging on Los Angeles
The NBA is turning its All-Star weekend events into a content factory for more than 200 top creators who are gathering in Los Angeles this week.
https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/jesser-nba-all-star-weekend-creators-los-angeles-content-1236657802/
1 day ago
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What makes Cartwright a fascinating creator to watch is that he brought a tabloid sensibility to his media reporting. For example, when the Sulzbergerâs hosted their annual barbecue, he hired a freelance photographer and physically stood outside their property so he could log all the invitees. Not
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Lachlan Cartwright matches 'legacy media' salary one year in with own newsbrand
Media news newsletter Breaker has hit profitability within a year with more than 40,000 paid and unpaid subscribers.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/newsletters/lachlan-cartwright-matches-legacy-media-salary-one-year-in-with-own-newsbrand/
1 day ago
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I know itâs almost cliche at this point to note that the party that ran on free speech now operates the most anti-free speech government in modern US history, but I canât think of many things that are more anti-free speech than threatening to investigate a company for being too mean to the current
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US FTC airs concerns over allegations that Apple News suppresses right-wing content | TechCrunch
In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from Media Research Center, a right-leaning think tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning outlets from the top 2...
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/12/us-ftc-airs-concerns-over-allegations-that-apple-suppresses-right-wing-content-on-apple-news/
1 day ago
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Itâs tempting to compare MrBeastâs latest acquisition to other celebrity-owned products, but that overlooks the massive marketing machine heâs built across his channels. When he launched his chocolate brand, Feastables, he didnât just promote it in his YouTube videos â he wove the product directly i
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MrBeast Makes Bank đŠ
Jimmy Donaldson's Step deal signals something bigger
https://news.thepublishpress.com/p/mrbeast-makes-bank
1 day ago
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In my middle school and high school years I used to devour mass market paperback novels, so it's a little bitter sweet for me that the format has largely been replaced by ebooks. At the same time I think it's cool that ebooks offer a lower entry point for just about any aspiring author.
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So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/books/mass-market-paperback-books.html
1 day ago
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While fiction sales have been relatively stable and even increased in some genres, nonfiction books have been on a steady decline. Some industry insiders believe the rise of podcasts are to blame -- especially since podcasters often conduct longform interviews with authors who are trying to promote
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Thereâs a crisis in non-fiction book sales. Whatâs to blame?
Weâre buying 17 million fewer factual books than six years ago. Is the rise of podcasts to blame? Or publishersâ obsession with celebrities and influencers?
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/what-happened-non-fiction-books-publishing-industry-trends-gd9snqwjz
1 day ago
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If I had to identify Will Lewisâs biggest failure during his disastrous tenure at the Washington Post, it was alienating the newsroom early on and doing nothing to repair that relationship. It doesnât matter how brilliant your strategy is â and thereâs little evidence he had one â if you canât inspi
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Last Will and Testament
The final days of The Washington Postâs publisher and C.E.O. were more cowardly and craven than even the newsroom imaginedâwith elevator closures and a stealth flight from town. Now that heâs gone, th...
https://puck.news/washington-post-after-will-lewis-what-will-jeff-bezos-do-now/
1 day ago
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Lots of people have compared video podcasts to talk shows, and the cancellation of several daytime and nighttime shows is an indication that podcasts are eating into this format. Why spend tens of millions of dollars to host a nightly show in front of a live studio audience when celebrities are incr
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Talk Is Cheap, Talk Shows Are Not: Daytime TVâs Big Problem
Sky-high production costs and waning audiences are pushing hosts off the dial. Video podcasts may be the final blow to the format.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/talk-shows-daytime-tv-video-podcasts-1236502423/
1 day ago
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If true, thatâs fairly impressive. Pre-Elon, Twitter was generating around $4 billion a year in advertising revenue, so he replaced about a fourth of that with subscriptions. Now imagine what he could have accomplished if he hadnât transformed the platform into a right-wing cesspool.
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X Subscriptions Hit $1 Billion in Annualized Revenue, Exec Says
X recently hit $1 billion in annualized recurring revenue from selling subscriptions, head of product Nikita Bier said in an xAI all-hands meeting on Tuesday. The subscriptions X sells include Basi...
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/x-subscriptions-hit-1-billion-annualized-revenue-exec-says?rc=bzhf5d
1 day ago
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I think itâs a smart move for major progressive donors to invest in local news. Studies have shown that counties that lose their local news outlets tend to shift significantly to the right. Some researchers theorize that when coverage of local communities disappears, voters become more fixated on na
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Progressive news network Courier expands to nine more states
The network is expanding to California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York and Utah.
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/11/courier-expands-to-nine-more-states
1 day ago
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We're going to see Hollywood continue to treat the Creator Economy as more and more of a talent incubator -- a place where aspiring entertainers can hone their skills and also build an audience that can then be leveraged in promoting a new TV show or film. It's so much easier to justify spending mil
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Exclusive | âMormon Wivesâ Producer Secures $50 Million for Creator-Economy Push
âThe Officeâ producer Ben Silvermanâs Propagate Content is valued at $200 million after the investment by private-equity firm Ares Management.
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/mormon-wives-producer-secures-50-million-for-creator-economy-push-0f586fab
1 day ago
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Iâm starting to realize that I might be wasting my time on my podcast. It doesnât directly contribute to my business â I donât put episodes behind a paywall, and I donât sell ads against it.
2 days ago
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Definitely a clear sign that a startup is worth $1.25 trillion dollars.
3 days ago
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YouTube shut down its Originals division in 2022 because it didnât align with the platformâs creator-first strategy. But now that YouTube has become the undisputed leader in TV viewership, the case for reviving Originals is much stronger. The platform is in direct competition with major streamers fo
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Why YouTube Should Bring Originals Back
The case to revive YouTube Originals. Plus, creators hit the Winter Olympics and Spotify grows paid subscribers.
https://scalablepod.com/p/why-youtube-should-bring-originals-back
3 days ago
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All eyes are on Netflix's moves into video podcasting, but Fox also continues to make interesting investments in the space. Last year it acquired Red Seat Ventures, a podcast advertising company that had signed deals with multiple cable news outcasts, including multiple Fox News hosts. Now it's buyi
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Red Seat Ventures Expands Podcasting Business With Acquisition
The Fox-owned podcasting company bought monetization company Supercast.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/red-seat-ventures-expands-podcasting-business-1236501625/
3 days ago
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It's incredible that a B-tier creator I've never heard of can get 327,000 people to sign up for a monthly paid subscription while the vast majority of legacy newspapers and magazines haven't hit that milestone.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Jasontheween Parlays Goofy Antics Into $3-Million-a-Year Job
Twitch star still lives in the mansion that the gamer group FaZe Clan occupied
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/jasontheween-parlays-goofy-antics-into-3-million-a-year-job
3 days ago
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That PR firm youâre paying the $20,000 a month retainer to is most likely having their lowest level employee use AI-generated pitches to spam thousands of journalists after plugging vague category keywords into a database. Theyâre doing absolutely nothing you couldnât do yourself.
3 days ago
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The top 10 most popular creators on YouTube and TikTok hardly changed in the past year, which means it's getting harder and harder to break through as a generalist creator and amass millions of followers. In the coming years, the newer creators who succeed will be the ones who niche down and develop
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Hitting the social media jackpot is harder than ever
TikTok dances won't make you an A-list celebrity anymore. But niche content creators make substantial incomes and are having a moment.
https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-superstars-are-over-all-about-niche-creators-now-2026-2
3 days ago
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Dear PR people, for the love of god please stop doing this. It is so fucking obvious that youâre just having an AI program ingest my latest podcast episode and then spit out a paragraph summary. Nobody is being fooled by this shit.
3 days ago
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It seems indisputably true that Bob Iger ultimately damaged his legacy by coming back to run Disney a second time. When he passed the reins, the company was at the height of its power. Now he'll be remembered as undermining his handpicked successor and then managing Disney's waning influence as comp
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The Complicated Legacy of Bob Iger
Disney insiders say the outgoing (again!) C.E.O. is leaving under far different circumstances than after his first stint as leader. Alan Horn praises Iger as perhaps the best entertainment executive h...
https://puck.news/second-bob-iger-era-at-disney-a-clear-eyed-review/
4 days ago
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Itâs no longer enough for aspiring pro athletes to simply excel at their sport; they also have to be skilled at building and maintaining their own fanbases. Weâre likely to see more young athletes coached from an early age on how to create social media content and grow an audience.
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Forget Ads: Why Athletes Are the New Super Creators
Brands are buying creator reach over TV spots. Explore this "arbitrage of authenticity" and how athlete-creators are owning direct fan connection.
https://insidethecreator.beehiiv.com/p/arbitraging-authenticity
4 days ago
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Iâve always hated the rent-a-scooters and bikes because theyâre constantly blocking the sidewalks, but over the past week Iâve reached a new level of hatred as theyâre even harder to maneuver around. Today I found myself fantasizing about walking around with a hammer and breaking them, one by one.
4 days ago
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Kit Chilvers started posting memes on Instagram when he was 14, treating the platform like a video game and obsessing over what made posts take off. A decade later, that experimentation has turned into Pubity Group, a bootstrapped social media company with roughly 170 million followers and hundreds
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A couple teenagers launched a media company that now drives 240 billion annual views
YouTube video by Simon Owens
https://youtu.be/7HIdC4w6oQY?si=Rq3qEx73MVSrmmtL
4 days ago
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reposted by
Simon Owens
Doug Gordon
5 days ago
Something to keep in mind the next time the city tries to repurpose parking and drivers complain that every last car is necessary at all times. The storm was two weeks ago.
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I love this booming economy
5 days ago
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Why would anyone visit the US when there's the near constant threat of being thrown into a jail for five months?
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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I realized I don't put enough content behind the paywall.
youtu.be/ICCZtKbcBYA?...
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I need to put more content behind the paywall + winter running disruption
YouTube video by Simon Owens
https://youtu.be/ICCZtKbcBYA?si=6U9UYMGWZLZdHUj5
6 days ago
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HEADLINE: President Trump Stokes Racial Tensions When He Says Black People Who Talk Back Should Be Strung up on a Tree SUBHEADER: It's unclear whether the president knew he was echoing racist talking points when he made the statement. -- The New York Times
8 days ago
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Pretty hard to deny at this point that Trump is a full blown white supremacist.
8 days ago
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Finally cancelled my WashPo subscription. Not even for ideological reasons â but because I was barely reading it. Thatâs what happens when you shrink your newsroom.
8 days ago
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An annual subscription to my newsletter costs $150. If you use my newsletter sponsorship index to land just one sponsor, you've more than paid for the price of the subscription.
8 days ago
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reposted by
Simon Owens
Parker Molloy
8 days ago
đ Apparently, Ross Douthat invited Seth Harp to debate him on Douthat's "Interesting Times" NYT podcast. Harp says that the episode was recorded, Douthat got crushed, and RD/NYT decided not to publish it. What?
x.com/sethharpesq/...
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Do Google's AI overviews siphon off traffic? Yes. Does Google still send a ton of clicks to publisher websites? Also yes.
simonowens.substack.com/p/the-threat...
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The threat of Google Zero was always overblown
PLUS: How Netflix and Spotify teamed up to fight off YouTube
https://simonowens.substack.com/p/the-threat-of-google-zero-was-always
8 days ago
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Iâve always thought predictions of âGoogle Zeroâ were overblown because they misunderstand how many people actually use search engines. Yes, some queries are straightforward and easily answered, and in those cases an AI summary is often enough. But a large share of Google searches are more explorato
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'Search isn't dead, it's fragmenting': How to manage Google traffic decline
Audience leaders at several major UK publishers have told Press Gazette they are viewing Google search traffic as being in âmanaged declineâ.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/search-isnt-dead-its-fragmenting-how-to-manage-google-traffic-decline/
8 days ago
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For the past several years, SiriusXM has been amassing a stable of star talent that can rival the influence of Howard Stern, who may announce his retirement any year now. In some ways, the company succeeded, in that it licenses chart-topping podcasts like Smartless, Call Your Daddy, and Conan O'Brie
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SiriusXMâs Podcasting Push Comes With Risks
The company is the top podcast network by reach, but its effort to build a satellite radio following for hosts is uncertain
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-02-05/siriusxm-s-podcasting-push-comes-with-risks
8 days ago
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Is Bitcoin's crash a recession indicator? Lots of people suddenly strapped for cash and needing to liquidate their holdings?
8 days ago
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Several years ago, the company that owned the magazine Outside embarked on a bold strategy of acquiring a bunch of niche outdoors media outlets and rolling them until into a big subscription bundle. That strategy finally paid off, with the company reaching profitability last year. At the beginning o
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Outside Interactive Posted Its First ProfitâBut It's No longer Just a Media Company
The platform brought in $125 million in 2025, over 60% of which came from recurring lines of revenue.
https://www.adweek.com/media/outside-interactive-profit-transformation/
8 days ago
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One of my favorite things about TBPN is its constant tongue-in-cheek nod to the legacy media that came before it. Its name -- short for Technology Business Programming Network -- is basically a dumb joke referring to old school TV networks. Its hosts dress up in suits and the show features a crawlin
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EXCLUSIVE: Viral Tech Podcast TBPN Will Air Regional Super Bowl Ad Featuring Former Guests
The 15-second spot isnât selling anythingâitâs simply what co-host Jordi Hays calls âa love letter to our communityâ
https://www.adweek.com/media/tbpn-superbowl-commercial/
9 days ago
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The knock on YouTube over the past 20 years was that even though it had enormous reach, it was still a bad business. Not anymore. It's managed to not only build an enormous ad business, but also a respectable subscription business as well. What's more, it did the latter without locking any content
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YouTube Revenue for Full-Year 2025 Topped $60 Billion, Making Video Platform Bigger Than Netflix
YouTube generated more than $60 billion in revenue for 2025, including advertising and subscriptions, the first time parent company Alphabet has broken out total revenue for the platform.
https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/youtube-2025-total-revenue-ads-subscriptions-alphabet-earnings-1236652260/
9 days ago
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A 16-year-old YouTuber launched a skincare product and drew roughly 50,000 people to its unveiling at a mall. At the time, she and her father had been pitching an animated series to all the major streamers. But after seeing the scale of that launch, Netflix quickly signed her to a broader, open-ende
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Why the Biggest YouTube Family Just Went to Netflix: Jordan Matter
YouTube video by Colin and Samir
https://youtu.be/d18ud-4epP8?si=2e5TFTV78buMufsw
9 days ago
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Iâm a paid subscriber to Business Insider and itâs gotten to the point that whenever I want to read one of its articles, I save it to a web app that strips out all its advertising. Thatâs a testament to how abusive its adtech is.
9 days ago
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Iâve been leaning more into old-school blogging in recent weeks â shorter posts consisting of curation and analysis â and I kind of love it. As much as Iâd like to spend more time on longform reporting, the economics just donât work if youâre a solo creator.
9 days ago
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This is pretty incredible when you consider that People, Inc is a media company that's almost entirely focused on creating "intent-based content," which is basically the kind of product recommendation content that we've been told is most vulnerable to AI chatbots. The fact that it's still growing it
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People Inc. Scores: Publisher Saw A 14% Rise In Digital In Q4
The former Dotdash Meredith exceeded $1 billion in digital for the full year.
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/412528/people-inc-scores-publisher-saw-a-14-rise-in-di.html
9 days ago
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Over the past decade, police body cameras have become widespread, a shift many activists believe has brought greater transparency to law enforcement. But jurisdictions vary widely in how they release bodycam footage, with some states providing it to virtually anyone who requests it. That permissiven
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The Body-Cam Hustle
How YouTubers weaponized Freedom of Information laws to embarrass young women for clicks.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/body-cam-youtube-foia-abuse.html
9 days ago
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Kind of incredible that Washington, DC is one of the most influential cities in the world, and yet its only newspaper thinks it's worth dedicating just 12 reporters to the local beat.
add a skeleton here at some point
9 days ago
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I really hope that lots of laid-off WashPo journalists band together and launch a worker-owned cooperative. They would definitely see a huge rush of subscriptions.
10 days ago
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A newsletter writer hired a PR person who emails me every single time her client send out a new newsletter â as if I werenât capable of signing up for said newsletter. This is why I send 90% of PR pitches to my spam folder.
10 days ago
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I think one of the incredible things about IShowSpeed's travel tours is that they pull down massive viewership numbers without any editing or post-production. Most mainstream travel shows cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per episode and don't reach a fraction of his audience. What's more, a hug
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Just 21 and American, IShowSpeed Shows How to Market Africa Tourism
IShowSpeed's arrival in Angola in December sparked one of the most talked about tourism phenomena Africa has seen in years.
https://skift.com/2026/01/28/just-21-and-american-ishowspeed-shows-how-to-market-africa-tourism/
10 days ago
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For years, Democrats have worried that they lack their own version of Fox Newsâa nakedly partisan video outlet with massive reach. MSNBC partially fills that role, but with only a fraction of Foxâs audience. The rise of YouTube channels like MeidasTouch and The Bulwark, however, may finally be level
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Ben Meiselas Built âMeidasTouchâ Into an Empire as TV News âBetrayed Their Audiencesâ
Now rivaling Joe Rogan, he talks Don Lemonâs arrest, the risks facing independent journalists, and a culture of âfascismâ mainstream news wonât confront
https://likeandsubscribenews.substack.com/p/ben-meiselas-built-meidastouch-into
10 days ago
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