Note to Readers

We continue to implement new features to expand the reach and impact of our journalism.

Over the last three months, we have worked to expand the journalism we do here — both its reach and impact — through various additions and innovations. I wanted to provide a quick update on some recent developments that will offer our Substack subscribers more ways, and new ways, to consume the journalism we are producing:

First: All of the episodes for the live podcasts I am doing on the new platform “Callin” — both my individual show as well as a separate one which I co-host with the Canadian journalist Andray Domise, called “Unredacted” — are now available to be heard online. The most exciting feature of this platform is its interactivity: it is designed to enable the host to take questions from and engage in interactions with listeners, in the style of talk-radio (hence the name "Callin").

As I have repeatedly emphasized, I have always viewed this type of interaction with one's readers (including critics) a crucial aspect of journalistic accountability. While you still can participate in the live shows only by downloading the app on iPhones (it will very shortly be available on Androids as well), all the episodes can now be heard after they are published on the Callin site: here for my individual shows, and here for the show I co-host with Domise. I have been using this podcast platform to discuss and take questions about many of the articles I publish here on Substack (the last episode, for instance, was a 90-minute discussion of my last Substack article that documented the media's use of dubious, conflicted sources to discredit the "lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID). After publishing that article in the morning, I went live on Callin that night to discuss it. As soon as the Callin app is available on Androids — and thus available to anyone and everyone with cell phones — we will begin to schedule podcast shows there for subscribers only, devoted solely to taking questions and engaging in dialogue with readers here.

Second: We now have perfected the system of quickly posting here transcripts of all video reports we produce and publish on Rumble. Available to subscribers only, the transcripts of those Rumble programs — for those who prefer to read rather than watch news — are all posted shortly after the video is made public. You can find those transcripts here.

Rumble has proven to be a remarkably effective platform to expand the reach of my journalism. In just three months, we have close to 150,000 subscribers to the show. Immediately after the Rittenhouse verdict was announced, I went live to provide commentary on the trial, and that 45-minute program has been viewed almost 700,000 times: more than the number of people typically watching prime-time CNN programs. The 90-minute interview I conducted in late September with former Trump White House official Darren Beattie about possible FBI involvement in January 6 was viewed by more than 1.3 million people. Some people make very clear that they want to consume news only through video, while others do not want to spend the time watching videos but instead want to consume news only through written text. So our providing transcripts to subscribers here for each video report is a way to ensure that our journalism can reach as many people as possible.

Third: With the same goal in mind — reaching as many people as possible — our system for publishing audio versions of every article I write here is now running smoothly. For each article we publish here, the audio version is available within 48 hours for subscribers. Those who prefer to listen to articles rather than read them — during a work commute, a jog, or any other activity — can access the audio versions on the front page of our Substack, and it is also usually e-mailed to subscribers as well.

Finally: Our Outside Voices section — designed to accept and/or solicit freelance submissions by outside writers — continues to thrive. Respectful of readers’ time, we try hard to be selective and discriminating in which writers and articles we publish. We have definitely been prioritizing quality over quantity, based on the recognition that each time we click "publish,” we are, in essence, staking a claim to our readers’ time with an implicit assurance that their time would be well-served by reading the articles we publish (that is the same reason why I prioritize quality over quantity in my own writing here). Our last three Outside Voices contributions — Leighton Woodhouse's examination of how the media is protecting Dr. Fauci's gruesome dog experimentations with lies, Jeremy Beckham's critique of data manipulation for COVID vaccinations by The New York Times, and Darryl Cooper's essay on the mindset of the Trump voter — all generated large audiences (both Woodhouse and Cooper now have Substacks of their own, both of which I highly recommend).

In late October, we navigated through our one-year anniversary of moving to Substack with significant success. The vast, vast majority of subscribers who signed up for a one-year subscription when I left The Intercept in 2020 decided to renew their subscription for another year, and we continue to attract new subscribers as well. That not only enables us to pay highly competitive wages for our freelance journalists, but also to expand our team of editors, fact-checkers and video and design specialists. I am as excited as ever about the growth of the independent, censorship-free sector of the media ecosystem, and am as grateful as ever to all of you who have made my work here possible.

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